Summer 2023

From the President: Charging Forward in an Era of Change

Portrait of Stephen Spinelli Jr. on campus
Listen

The pace of change in business and society is driven by technological advances, social dynamics, and the effects of the pandemic, permanently posing new challenges and opportunities. We see it in new technologies and business models that shape new markets and revolutionize industries, and we see it in new demands and expectations for hybrid and digital-only work and learning. These phenomena present new opportunities to collaborate with diverse and inclusive communities around the world.

There’s no going back. The rapid rate of change is our new reality. The leaders and organizations that embrace that reality will race forward, while others will be left behind.

As the No. 1 school for entrepreneurship for three decades, Babson College chooses to charge forward. We have a responsibility to lead in this new era. I recently sat down with Babson Magazine to reflect on how the College has navigated this pace of change and how we’re positioned for even greater impact over the next few years.


Learn more at Meeting the Moment: Collective Impact.


Babson scholars define entrepreneurial leaders as “individuals who possess a growth mindset and demonstrate high levels of emotional, social, and cognitive competence to facilitate follower intrinsic motivation to act entrepreneurially.”* The need to educate entrepreneurial leaders who can tackle the most critical global issues has been especially urgent in higher education, a volatile market undergoing seismic shifts even before the pandemic. At Babson, we recognized that if we solve these new challenges in creative and sustainable ways, we could create competitive advantages to position the College for even greater impact. And, we’ve been doing that—much to the credit of our faculty, students, alumni, and entire community.

The accelerated pace of change is perhaps most dramatically seen in the rapid rise of generative AI. This emerging technology poses exciting and unique challenges and opportunities, as well as some daunting questions. In this issue, Babson experts—faculty and alumni—explore the ramifications for entrepreneurs and offer their insights at the dawn of the Generative AI Era.

Symbolic of our new reality, it’s an era full of uncertainty and opportunity—the type of situation in which the Babson community is prepared to lead and thrive.


* “An Integrated Conceptual Model of Entrepreneurial Leadership: New Frontiers for Research,” Scott Taylor, Danna Greenberg, Andrew C. Corbett, Keith Rollag, Jeffrey Shay, and Wendy Marcinkus Murphy, Academy of Management Journal

Posted in Community

More from Babson Magazine »

Latest Stories

Three photos in a side-by-side collage depict Michael Kopelman coaching, Brady Anderson in action, and the doubles team celebrating
Courting Success: How Babson Tennis Teams Transformed into National Powerhouses With championships and top-tier recruiting classes, Babson Director of Tennis Michael Kopelman has overseen the transformation of the men’s and women’s programs into national powerhouses.
By
Scott Dietz
Writer
Scott Dietz
Scott Dietz is Babson College's Associate Athletic Director for Strategic Communications. Dietz is responsible for the department's internal and external communications, including branding, campus engagement, marketing, social media, sponsorships and website management. Additional duties consist of event coverage, facilitation of interview requests, media pitching, video content, writing and editing. Before Babson, Dietz spent 13-plus years at fellow NEWMAC institution Wheaton College, worked for the NFL, New England Patriots, and in the media relations department with the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers. A native of South Park, PA, Dietz began his sports information career at Westminster College.
September 2, 2025

Posted in Community

Babson Build students from HBCUs participate in an exercise in the Weissman Foundry
An Entrepreneurial Summer: How Babson Impacts Communities Year-Round The school year may be over, but Babson’s work of educating entrepreneurial leaders doesn’t stop. In the summer, many entrepreneurs, educators, and leaders descend on campus. They come from around the globe to connect and to learn. What they take away from the College can impact their companies, their classrooms, and their communities.
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.
August 29, 2025

Posted in Community, Entrepreneurial Leadership

Juan “JC” Grullon ’27 and Ty Bradford ’29 shake hands outside Publishers Hall
Publishers Hall Welcomes First-Year Students to Its Cozy Confines During move-in day, a new crop of first-year students made Publishers Hall their home. The small residence hall, built over a century ago, is known for the tight-knit communities that form there.
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.
August 28, 2025

Posted in Community