Bentley names president
E. LaBrent Chrite has been appointed the ninth president of Bentley University and the first Black president in the Waltham business school’s 104-yearhistory.
The appointment of Chrite, the president of Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla., and former dean of the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business, comes after a nationwide search, with input from Bentley’s students, faculty, staff and alumni.
“I believe the beauty of business lies in its ability to create solutions to human problems,” Chrite said in a statement. “A Bentley University education weaves together business skills with the arts and sciences and empowers students to transform business, society and their communities.”
The university’s board of trustees voted unanimously to confirm him as the next president, and he will joint Bentley on June 1.
“Brent Chrite shares our vision and passion for educating ethical leaders who make business a force for positive change,” Paul Condrin, interim president and board chairman, said in a statement. “He has dedicated his career to improving business education and expanding economic opportunities across the country and around the world, and I know he will lead Bentley University to greater heights in the years to come.”
As president of Bethune-Cookman, Chrite led the historically Black university out of probation and strengthened its academic and administrative leadership. As dean of the Daniels College of Business, he oversaw the development of a plan that led to new programs and increased enrollment, student satisfaction and revenues.
Chrite also served as dean of the Feliciano School of Business at Montclair State University in New Jersey, where he increased graduate enrollment by 24%, led the creation of a center for entrepreneurship and partnered with the cities of Newark and Patterson to invite inner-city high school students to campus and introduce them to careers in business.
Chrite grew up in Detroit. He has a Ph.D. in education and management from the University of Michigan, a master’s degree in healthcare administration with an emphasis on finance from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a bachelor’s degree in community health services from Michigan State University.
Founded in 1917, Bentley University enrolls 4,200 undergraduate and 1,000 graduate and PhD students.