As part of an attempt to maintain and nurture the college community and to maximize the potential for learning, the institution embraces what we refer to as the Bentley Beliefs, a set of principles that govern conduct in classrooms, residence halls and places of work:

• We strive at all times to treat one another with respect.
• We acknowledge and learn from our differences.
• We act with integrity and honesty in our academic, personal and professional affairs.
• We seek to further the growth and learning of each member of our community and ourselves.

Building on these principles, the next dimension of the strategy is to go beyond the classroom and curriculum, supporting classroom-based discussions of ethics and corporate responsibility through extra-curricular activities. Among its myriad initiatives, for example, CBE hosts the annual Raytheon Lectureship in Business Ethics, bringing prominent CEOs to campus to talk about ethics and corporate responsibility in their companies. Recent Raytheon lectures have included Raymond Gilmartin (Merck), Anne Mulcahy (Xerox), Jamie Gorelick (Board member, United Technologies Corporation), and Michael Ruettgers (EMC Corporation). CBE also hosts the Verizon Visiting Professor of Business Ethics. For one week each spring, a prominent business ethics scholar is invited to campus, giving public lectures, visiting classes and, in general, promoting greater awareness of ethical issues. Past Verizon Professors have included such noted ethics scholars as Richard DeGeorge, Norman Bowie, Thomas Donaldson, Laura Hartman and Rush Kidder. The other Centers also sponsor a series of speakers and events that reinforce issues of ethics and corporate responsibility.

During 2003 through the Alliance, the issue of ethics and personal responsibility became the foundation for Bentley’s new Academic Integrity System (AIS). Developed jointly by students, faculty, and administration, the AIS sets and regulates standards of academic integrity throughout the college. An Academic Integrity Coordinator (AIC) oversees and facilitates the system’s procedures for insuring fair and effective implementation. The AIC also provides educational outreach to students and faculty, and is available to consult with faculty to determine how to proceed with a suspected violation, assist faculty with investigations, and consult with both faculty and students once a violation is alleged. Finally, an Academic Integrity Board, which consists of faculty and students, becomes involved (1) when there is a prior record of academic dishonesty, (2) in cases that remain unresolved between student and instructor/ college official, (3) when the AIC determines that a hearing is the most effective means of resolving a case, (4) when certain sanctions are recommended, and/or (5) in cases that represent the most serious breaches of intellectual honesty. In these cases, it is the responsibility of the Board to determine whether or not there has been a violation and what, if any, sanction should be imposed. Combined with outreach to the student population – both undergraduate and graduate – about the importance of academic honesty and integrity, a goal is to instill a commitment to ethical behavior as part of business education (and subsequent practice).

Students also have the opportunity to directly immerse themselves in the surrounding community through the Bentley Service-Learning (S-L) Center. Over each of the past four academic years, the S-L program has averaged more than 650 students in 90 credit-bearing courses, taught by over 60 faculty members in 10 different departments.

The visibility of the Alliance and Service-Learning Program has also prompted undergraduate students to get more actively involved through the Bentley Civic Leadership Program (BCLP), which is the Bentley chapter of the Graduation Pledge Alliance. The BCLP, which is student initiated and led, has three foci: campus involvement, civic engagement, and ethical and responsible behavior. Campus Involvement is designed to encourage students to become actively involved early in their undergraduate career, helping them feel comfortable in becoming a leader within their immediate community. Civic Engagement is intended to facilitate student appreciation of the importance of the greater community, which includes aspects of political participation, cultural awareness, and service, with an emphasis on experiences that lie outside of Bentley. Finally, Ethical and Responsible Behavior is designed for students to realize the importance of ethics and social responsibility in their lives. Emphasis is placed on striving for exemplary behavior, being a role model, and active and responsible involvement.

For the past four years, Bentley has also identified a "class book" that has been assigned to the incoming freshman class. Entering students are expected to read the book during the summer and complete a 3-page essay on the issues raised to be handed in when they come to campus. The book is discussed in First-Year courses and serves as the focus of a series of activities, including a visit by the author, panel discussions, community conversations, a film series and web site. Class books have included by Adam Hochschild’s King Leopold's Ghost, Thomas Friedman’s The Lexus and the Olive Tree, Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation, and, most recently, David Callahan’s The Cheating Culture. One of the selection criteria for the class book is the extent to which it raises questions of ethical and socially responsible behavior. The resulting opportunities for shared academic interaction are intended to create a central intellectual focus for the First-Year class and others in the institution who care to join in.

Finally, a campus-wide commitment to these ideals has further renewed the college’s emphasis on the protection of human participants in research through a newly constituted Institutional Review Board, and supported the institution’s campus-wide College Ethics Policy and Oversight Committee. Additionally, the Alliance supports diversity workshops for faculty, staff and students (e.g., "Day to Day Diversity," "Becoming an ‘Ally’ on Sexual Identity Issues"), and a series of campus-wide panels and presentations on current issues, from peer-to-peer file sharing to business ethics and the arts.

(3) the university’s research agenda, and (4) in outreach to the academic, corporate and not-for-profit worlds.