Bentley Earns Top Diversity Honor for Second Straight Year

For the second year in a row, Bentley University has won the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award for its outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. The national honor was given by INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. Bentley was one of 113 U.S. colleges and universities to receive the award.  

Creating a diverse community and ensuring a sense of inclusion and equity across campus is a core focus of Bentley’s Falcons Forward 2030 strategic plan.  Bentley was recognized for its extensive efforts to recruit and support historically underrepresented and first-generation students through programs including BentleyFirst, which gives eligible first-generation students the opportunity to attend Bentley for the same cost as tuition at UMASS Amherst; the MOSAIC Experience, a pre-orientation program for first-year students of color and their allies which allows students of color to move onto campus sooner to prepare them for academic success; and the Rainbow Scholars Program, a year-long leadership development program for LGBTQ+ and allied undergraduate students that empowers them to advocate for allyship and inclusion at Bentley. Additionally, Bentley offers a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion major for undergraduate students.  

“We take a detailed approach to reviewing each application in deciding who will be named a HEED Award recipient,” said Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of Insight Into Diversity magazine. “Our standards are high, and we look for institutions where diversity and inclusion are woven into the work being done every day across their campus.”