Armenians

THEIR GROUNDBREAKING CONTRIBUTIONS REFLECT A LEGACY OF INNOVATION THAT CONTINUES TO INSPIRE FUTURE GENERATIONS

Gregory Adamian

Law professor turned university innovator

President of Bentley University

Bio


Known affectionately as “Bentley’s Second Founder,” Gregory Adamian (born 1926 in Somerville, Massachusetts) served as president of Bentley University (Massachusetts) from 1970 to 1991.


Adamian was a navigation officer aboard a US tanker in the Pacific in the late 1940s. After earning a law degree from Boston University on the GI Bill, he opened a law firm and received a master’s from Harvard’s School of Public Administration (now the Kennedy School).


In 1955, Adamian began teaching at Bentley University, and soon his courses became extremely popular with students.


In 1968, he was named chairman of the Bentley Law Department, and two years later became the college’s fourth president.


Under his leadership, Bentley expanded its academic programs from one undergraduate degree to a number of business and liberal-arts programs, as well as master’s degrees in six fields. Adamian also helped build Bentley’s endowment and vastly enhance its campus. In 1989, the national organization charged with evaluating business programs placed Bentley in. the select 20 percent of schools to receive accreditation.


In recognition of Adamian’s numerous accomplishments, Bentley named an academic center and a law professorship in his honor.


Upon his retirement, Adamian was named chancellor and president emeritus of Bentley University.

Gregory Adamian