Best Year Yet
In 2019, Babson College celebrated its Centennial year.
From a historic Presidents’ Fireside Chat and Gala, to a Commencement featuring the visionary entrepreneurs behind Toyota and AOL, and a Centennial Celebration unlike any other, this year the Babson community came together to honor our past and look to our future.
As we embark on our second century, what else can we say but thank you?
#DearBabson
To launch our Centennial year, we asked you to write letters to Babson, and the community. You did not disappoint.
“Dear Babson, my story was never supposed to have a fairy tale ending. You opened doors for me, and provided me with opportunities that were beyond my wildest dreams,” shared Derek Tu ’18.
“Thank you for surrounding me with leaders,” added Maya Mutalik ’21. “Coming to this school has been the best decision I have made in my life.”
Together, your many sentiments make up a time capsule, buried in the new Kerry Murphy Healey Park.
Same Babson, New Look
Speaking of new—Babson College this year unveiled approximately 125,000 square feet of campus construction and renovation.
The Weissman Foundry, Babson Commons at Horn Library, and the new finance lab at the Stephen D. Cutler Center for Investments and Finance gave the community new spaces to collide and create, to research and do.
Kerry Murphy Healey Park gave the restored Babson World Globe a prominent home in the center of campus. With the Fountain of Flags, the park now serves as a stunning representation of Babson’s global network and increasing international presence in entrepreneurial leadership.
And, last, but certainly not least, came the opening of the Babson Recreation and Athletics Complex—a destination, double the size of the original facility, for students to pursue any and all health and wellness goals.
And, how could we talk about all that’s new at Babson without mentioning the warm welcome of our 14th president, Stephen Spinelli Jr. MBA’92, PhD this past July.
“I wanted to be Babson’s next president because I think the world needs entrepreneurship now more than ever,” he says. “There is a consistency of mission here, and that mission is about thinking deeply and acting decisively. It’s embedded throughout Babson’s culture, and that is very exciting for me.”
A Homecoming
“One hundred years of Babson. Three signature events. One extraordinary celebration.”
We teased it all year, and put unmatched effort into planning and development, but could never have imagined the Centennial Celebration that came to be.
Nearly 6,000 of you, representing 57 countries and 43 states, joined us this September for Babson Connect: Worldwide, the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs®, and Back to Babson.
We took over Copley Square, celebrated champions and the Athletics Hall of Fame, and heard from some of the many students and alumni who’ve brought their ideas to ABC’s famous “Shark Tank.”
Professional singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur, Jamie Kent ’09 even wrote a song about this momentous year—“Give it All”—and performed it live at the kickoff to Babson’s largest fundraising campaign in 100 years.
One of the most exciting events this fall came from a simple, yet grand idea, to join forces with Babson’s living-learning community, eTower, to host the College’s biggest business competition yet.
Babson ultimately awarded Joanna Geisinger MBA’17 with $100,000 for her venture, TORq Interface, at Babson ePitch: Second Century Challenge. And, in total, student and alumni entrepreneurs walked away with $300,000 in cash prizes and investment offers from such judges as Jamie Siminoff ’99, founder and chief inventor of Ring and Diane Hessan, founder and chairman of C Space.
Thank You
Thank you for celebrating with Babson at events—big and small—around the world and right here on the College’s suburban, Wellesley, Massachusetts, campus.
Thank you for supporting Babson students, current and future, through impactful gifts, including $10 million to establish the Kerry Murphy Healey Center for Global Healthcare Entrepreneurship and $50 million to launch the Arthur M. Blank School for Entrepreneurial Leadership.
And, thank you for continuing to support Babson’s many faculty thought leaders and practitioners, who, above and beyond being mentors to our students, help advance impactful, global research and scholarly projects, such as the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), Diana Project, Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference (BCERC), and the Successful Transgenerational Entrepreneurship Practices (STEP).
We’re grateful for this and the last 100 years, and we can’t wait to see what’s in store.
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