2019 marks Babson’s Centennial and 100 years of revolutionizing business education.
By transforming the way people do and see business, Babson has paved the way for entrepreneurs to spend the next 100 years changing the world.
Join us and our community of 41,000+ entrepreneurs of all kinds, across 119 countries, in honoring the past, celebrating the present, and launching Babson’s second century.
19 Things to Look Forward to This Year
1. Centennial Presidents’ Fireside Chat
On Friday, February 8, Presidents Emeriti Ralph Sorenson, William Dill, William Glavin, Leo Higdon, Jr., Brian Barefoot, and Leonard Schlesinger will join President Kerry Healey for a historic Fireside Chat and share their experience, stories, and learnings as Babson’s presidents. We will also unveil the new presidential portraits, commissioned for the Centennial.
2. Continued Efforts to Strengthen Family Entrepreneurship
Motivated by Babson’s founding mission to prepare the next generation of family business leaders, the College has launched our second century with a dedicated focus on family entrepreneurship. In 2019, we look forward to seeing more of our students and their families engage with Babson’s Institute for Family Entrepreneurship.
3. Celebrating with President Kerry Healey
After leading Babson into our second century, President Kerry Healey will step down in June 2019 from her historic post as the first female president to lead the College. Make sure to find her on campus and at upcoming events that celebrate Babson’s Centennial and her continued success!
4. A New Undergraduate Semester in San Francisco
Each spring, Babson sends a new cohort of undergraduate students to study at Babson’s San Francisco campus, located in the city’s thriving hub of entrepreneurial activity. To date, Babson students have benefited from engagements with startups and corporations including Facebook, Airbnb, Google, Intel, and more.
5. The Unveiling of Centennial Park
Just before this year’s Pomp and Circumstance, Babson will unveil our new Centennial Park. Featuring a restored Babson World Globe, the Fountain of Flags, and a commemorative statue of Roger Babson, Centennial Park will bring our founder’s vision of an “appreciation of the world as a whole” to the forefront, greeting visitors at the heart of Babson’s Wellesley campus.
Babson invites you to be a part of this historic milestone. Buy a brick for Centennial Park »
6. Centennial Commencement – May 18
On Saturday, May 18, Babson’s Centennial Class of 2019 will walk the stage and receive their degrees. The undergraduate class entered Babson as the first majority female class in the College’s history.
7. Enjoying the Brand New Babson Commons at Horn Library
During Commencement weekend, the community will witness the opening of Babson Commons, a beautiful, light-filled, state-of-the-art space designed to transform the student experience.
This new gateway to Horn Library will include a four-season garden, group study and informal gathering areas, a café, three new classrooms, faculty and staff offices, and a new home for the Stephen D. Cutler Center for Investments and Finance. It also will establish centralized locations for Babson’s academic and extracurricular resource centers.
8. The Completion of One WIN Lab Cohort and the Beginning of the Next
Now in its sixth year, Babson’s Women Innovating Now (WIN) Lab® is preparing for finale events in Boston and Miami.
WIN Lab® provides women entrepreneurs with an inspiring community and a rigorous, experiential process to catalyze their businesses. Learn more about the current cohorts, and stay tuned on how to apply to be a part of the program.
9. A Week Dedicated to Entrepreneurship Research at Babson – June 2–8
This year, Babson will convene scholars from around the world at our Wellesley campus for both the Diana International Research Conference and the Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference (BCERC).
The Diana International Research Conference will take place June 2–5 and will center on the theme of Women’s Entrepreneurship: Catalyzing Change and Innovation. BCERC, held immediately after, June 5–8, will bring together the world’s leading academics to focus on cutting-edge research that will advance the field of entrepreneurship in significant ways.
10. Expansion of the Babson Academy for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurial Learning
The Babson Academy provides faculty, administrators, and students of other educational institutions access to Babson’s thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem, and hopes to inspire change in the way universities and colleges think about, teach, and learn entrepreneurship.
This year, be sure to get involved and stay up-to-date with the Babson Academy as it continues to expand its programming and global engagements.
11. New Executive Education Programming in Dubai
Excited to begin hosting local programs for working professionals, Babson Dubai will open with new executive education offerings such as Approaches to Innovation in the UAE and Growing a Business and Family Across Generations.
12. Welcoming Babson’s New President
In December 2018, Babson announced the appointment of Stephen Spinelli, Jr. MBA ‘92, PhD, as our next president. Founder of Jiffy Lube and longtime member of the Babson community, Spinelli will succeed President Healey on July 1, 2019.
13. B.E.T.A. Challenge, Rocket Pitch, and Everything in Between
On Thursday, April 11, Babson will name the winners of our 2019 Babson Entrepreneurial Thought & Action® (B.E.T.A.) Challenge. In this event’s 10th year, another undergraduate, graduate, and alumni team will each earn $20,000 in cash plus in-kind services donated from corporate sponsors.
Before the pitch event, 100 Babson alumni entrepreneurs will engage with, and mentor, 100 student entrepreneurs as part of our first Founders Summit and Mega Mentoring session.
These, and other annual Babson initiatives like Summer Venture Program and Rocket Pitch, are a handful of the many opportunities given to Babson entrepreneurs, offering chances to work on and pitch ideas and to garner feedback, resources, and funding.
14. The Start of Babson Miami’s Second Graduate Cohort
In fall 2018, Babson welcomed our inaugural Blended Learning MBA class in Miami with 21 new students. Babson Miami also hosted a variety of executive education programs, company meetings, alumni engagements, and more.
This year, Babson looks forward to many more opportunities to get involved with the local entrepreneurship ecosystem, and to inviting our second Miami cohort to join the program.
15. Founder’s Day/100th Birthday Celebration – September 5
Founder’s Day recognizes Roger Babson, founder and first president of Babson College, and honors his passion for entrepreneurship, education, and philanthropy. This year, Founder’s Day will be celebrated in conjunction with the College’s official 100th Birthday Celebration on campus and throughout our global community.
16. The Centennial Celebration – September 18–22
One hundred years of Babson. Three signature events. One extraordinary celebration. Mark your calendars, and join us as we honor our past and offer inspiration for our next century.
Events include:
- Babson Connect: Worldwide—the Centennial edition of the world’s premier entrepreneurship summit, now in its fifth year
- Babson’s Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs® (ADE)—celebrating its 40th anniversary, the ADE has inducted more than 100 internationally renowned entrepreneurial leaders since it was established
- Back to Babson—the biggest alumni event of Babson’s first century
17. Advancements in Social Innovation
Since 1919, Babson students have engaged in business as a means of rendering service to humanity.
Under the direction of The Lewis Institute for Social Innovation at Babson, students are encouraged and supported in taking action toward any activity that advances the United Nations Global Goals for a better world by 2030. Babson will continue to propel this vision into the future by providing experiences and resources that activate people to become changemakers.
18. Working Out in the New Babson Recreation and Athletics Center (BRAC)
This much anticipated, redesigned multipurpose space will nearly double the size of Babson’s current athletic and recreation facility!
Starting in the fall, the Babson community will be able to use the new fitness and recreation spaces and take part in campuswide programs and events, and student athletes will enjoy new and improved areas to meet the needs of their many varsity athletics programs.
19. Looking Back on a Year of Centennial Celebrations, and Launching Our Second Century of Leadership in Entrepreneurship!
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