Babson’s Blank Center Wins Prestigious GCEC Award

Listen

Closeup photo of the Nasdaq Center of Entrepreneurial Excellence Award

The Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship at Babson College recently won the Nasdaq Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence Award at the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC) Conference in Las Vegas.

The award represents the highest honor that a university entrepreneurship center can receive. The Nasdaq award honors the entrepreneurship centers that have made and will continue to make enormous contributions in advancing entrepreneurship as the force in economic growth throughout the world.

Babson’s Blank Center also won the prestigious award in 2002, becoming one of just a handful of entrepreneurship centers to earn the GCEC honor multiple times in the 23-year history of the award. The competition this year was particularly strong with a record-breaking number of nominations (128).

“We’re honored to receive this special recognition,” said Smaiyra Million, Blank Center executive director. “Since its founding, the Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship has been at the leading edge of entrepreneurship education and the advancement of entrepreneurship. To receive this award again 20 years later, validates the continuing work of our center’s staff, faculty, and students, to keep Babson innovating and advancing the field of entrepreneurship.”

This was the second year that the award was given in two categories, based on enrollment. Babson’s Blank Center won the small-school category (fewer than 5,000 students), and Iowa State University’s Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship was honored in the 5,000-plus students category.

Posted in Babson Briefs

More from Babson Briefs »

Latest Stories

Babson Globe at night
Year in Review: Favorite Photos of 2025 Babson photographer Nic Czarnecki captured images of hundreds of people on campus this year. Here are 10 of our favorite photos of 2025.
By
Eric Beato
Editor / Writer
Eric Beato
Eric Beato is the Editor of Babson Thought & Action and Babson Magazine. A native of Chicago and a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Eric has worked as an editor and writer at newspapers across the country, including the Chicago Sun-Times and Boston Herald. Eric joined Babson College in 2019 after working as the communications director for a private educational travel company and as the managing editor of six regional sports publications.
,
December 29, 2025

Posted in Community

Composite of 10 photos from the 10 stories
Year in Review: Favorite Stories of 2025 Another year, another No. 2 ranking, another national championship. Amid all the accolades this year, here are 10 of our favorite stories of 2025.
By
Eric Beato
Editor / Writer
Eric Beato
Eric Beato is the Editor of Babson Thought & Action and Babson Magazine. A native of Chicago and a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Eric has worked as an editor and writer at newspapers across the country, including the Chicago Sun-Times and Boston Herald. Eric joined Babson College in 2019 after working as the communications director for a private educational travel company and as the managing editor of six regional sports publications.
December 26, 2025

Posted in Community

two people hold hands
The Web of Humanity: How a Babson Alumnus’ Foundation Transforms Lives Around the World Joe Hoffman ’75 founded the KNL Foundation to help the disadvantaged. As an entrepreneurial leader, he brings together those with “open hearts” to make a difference.
By
John Crawford
Senior Journalist
John Crawford
A writer for Babson Thought & Action and the Babson Magazine, John Crawford has been telling the College’s entrepreneurial story for more than 15 years. Assignments for Babson have taken him from Rwanda to El Salvador, from the sweet-smelling factory of a Pennsylvania candy maker, to the stately Atlanta headquarters of an NFL owner, to the bustling office of a New York City fashion designer. Beyond his work for Babson, he has written articles and essays for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Notre Dame Magazine, The Good Men Project, and other publications. He can be found on Twitter, @crawfordwriter, where he tweets about climate change.
December 19, 2025

Posted in Entrepreneurial Leadership