Kurt Heinrich ’87 will tell you that he’s “just a typical 1980s Bentley guy.” He grew up in Connecticut, took his studies seriously but also enjoyed life outside the classroom, joined a large financial institution after graduation, built a good career, and helped his alma mater as best he could. Average story.
“Average? Kurt Heinrich is anything but,” says Greg Maynard ’95 of the Bentley Development and Alumni Relations Office. “Kurt is phenomenal. He participates, he donates, he volunteers — he’s the kind of guy who just jumps in and does what needs to be done.”
Arriving at Bentley fall of 1983, Heinrich was a freshman resident at a time when only about half of the student population lived on campus. Nights and weekends were pretty quiet. With no car and home a good distance away, he looked for ways to get involved and stay active. He joined the Campus Activities Board (CAB) and, during his tenure as president, helped bring Cheap Trick, ’Til Tuesday, and other major rock bands to the campus concert series.
The Business Economics major went on to join regional giant Fleet Bank as a money manager. Not long after, he accepted a post at Southington Savings Bank, a small community bank in Connecticut where his contributions could make a real difference. Hired as a systems administration officer, he leapt at the chance to help the bank move its systems from low-tech ledger to high-tech computer.
“I ended up being a one-man information technology department for the bank,” he says. “It needed to be done, and I had some experience, so I figured, why not?”
In 1999, Heinrich moved from banking to a technology start-up, where he remained for eight years. A subsequent position in financial consulting would eventually place Heinrich in an all-too-typical scenario: Business at the firm began to dry up, and he was laid off.
“I contacted everyone I knew to tell them my situation,” says Heinrich. “Greg Maynard suggested I look into the Miller Center for Career Services at Bentley, which turned out to be a great move. The office helped me focus on what I really want for a career rather than simply chasing after a job. The programs, and access to a huge number of other alumni, were invaluable.”
Heinrich is now happily re-ensconced in the banking world, this time as vice president and profitability manager with Cambridge Savings Bank.
Meanwhile, he continues to play an above-average role in all things Bentley: alumni volunteer, reunion class planner, career mentor, “True Blue” annual donor since 1988, and member of the President’s Club, whose contributors provide $1,000 or more to the university each year.
The Richard L. Cross Fund for Excellence in Accountancy Education has been established in honor of accounting professor Richard L. Cross. Through exemplary teaching, fair and rigorous course work, and a deep commitment to students, he furthered the academic and professional success for scores of Bentley graduates.
Dan Courter
Your gift to this special fund will help maintain the high quality of teaching and learning at Bentley University. Please make a gift through www.bentley.edu/giving. Or, contact Tom Ralston, senior philanthropic adviser, at 781.891.2425 or tralston@bentley.edu.
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