Babson’s New HELV Is Now Open for Business

Rishi Ajmera opens a door and welcomes visitors to the Herring Family Entrepreneurial Leadership Village
Listen

On the patio of the Herring Family Entrepreneurial Leadership Village (HELV), JT Rai ’26 sat in the shade last Thursday afternoon. 

The semester was new, the late summer weather was glorious, and, for Rai, this was a moment to unwind. With his classes done for the week and his schoolwork finished for now, he was taking time to fill out internship applications before grabbing an early dinner. Tonight, he had tennis club practice to attend, and after that, a party. 

In short, life was good on the porch, in this new space on Babson’s campus. The HELV may have only fully opened this semester, but Rai is already a regular. He enjoys coming here. “I like the new space. I’ve been here a dozen times already,” he said. “The weather is perfect out here.” 

With HELV’s eagerly awaited opening, Babson now has a new defining feature of campus, a focal point for students to live, gather, and learn about entrepreneurial leadership. As Rai enjoyed the afternoon on the HELV’s patio, Babson held an open house to celebrate the landmark addition to the campus. College leaders spoke of what the HELV will mean for students, for faculty, and for Babson’s leadership in entrepreneurship education, while pointing to further additions to the facility in coming years.  

“We have enhanced the delivery system for entrepreneurship education. It now sets a whole new standard,” Babson President Stephen Spinelli Jr. MBA’92, PhD, told the gathered faculty, staff, students, and alumni at the open house. “We have changed the game.” 

 An Anchor of Student Life 

At the open house, College leaders thanked the many people who have invested in the teaching of entrepreneurial leadership at Babson. They singled out Arthur M Blank ’63, H’98; the supporters who invested in the HELV’s innovative classroom spaces; and Bruce Herring ’87, P’19, Tricia Herring P’19, and the entire Herring family, whose name graces the HELV.  

Babson President Stephen Spinelli Jr. MBA’92, PhD
Babson President Stephen Spinelli Jr. MBA’92, PhD was one of several College leaders who spoke at the open house of the Herring Family Entrepreneurial Leadership Village. (Photo: Nic Czarnecki)

“Thank you for helping us to fulfill our aspirations at Babson,” said Edward Chiu, Babson’s Governor Craig R. Benson Endowed Senior Vice President for Advancement. 

Bruce Herring attended the open house, and he watched students as they came and went, from the HELV’s Village Coffee House and from the Foundations of Management and Entrepreneurship (FME) classes in the building. A signature course at Babson, FME now takes place entirely in the HELV. “To see students in this building is energizing,” said Herring, a member of the Babson Board of Trustees.  

Speaking at the open house, Caitlin Capozzi called the HELV, with its mix of learning and living spaces, a new anchor for student life at Babson. Home to 282 students, it is the largest residence hall on campus. 

“The HELV provides a new and unique aspect to the student experience—a dynamic place where students can live, learn, socialize, experiment, and network across our community,” said Capozzi, vice president for learner success and dean of campus life. “Located in an area of our campus that students often felt was too far from everything, it is now central to their daily lives.” 

A New Learning Environment 

As open house attendees celebrated the HELV, Yasuhiro Yamakawa and Megan Gorges wrapped up teaching an FME course in one of the building’s classrooms. After students filed out, the pair stayed to talk and review how the class went. An associate professor of entrepreneurship, Yamakawa is teaching FME for the 15th time, while Gorges, an adjunct lecturer in management, is in her first year of teaching the experiential course. 

Bruce Herring and Trish Herring
Bruce Herring ’87, P’19 (right), Trish Herring P’19 (left), and the entire Herring family were critical supporters of the Herring Family Entrepreneurial Leadership Village. (Photo: Nic Czarnecki)

They both praised the tech and design of the spacious, new classroom, how it has plenty of screens and whiteboards, how the tables and chairs can be moved to allow collaboration, how it looks out upon a relaxing scene of grass and trees. “I think the level of excitement and engagement seems to be increasing because of the new facility and its design,” Yamakawa said. 

For both students and professors alike, the HELV offers a new type of learning environment. “They now get to work together in an environment that has been specially geared toward teaching the entrepreneurial leaders of tomorrow,” Donna Stoddard, dean of faculty, told attendees at the open house. “And, I am very excited to see what they will achieve in this new space.” 

Looking to the future, Spinelli said the College plans to continue building on to the HELV in coming years, with additional classrooms, student living spaces, and a dining area. “We are only in phase one of this,” he said. 


READ MORE: Explore What the HELV Means for Babson and Entrepreneurship Education 


Posted in Community, Entrepreneurial Leadership

More from Community »

Latest Stories

Man and woman listen to a pitch
Lessons from the Heart of Babson’s Summer Venture Program   Each summer, Babson’s Summer Venture Program gives student founders the tools, mentorship, and momentum to accelerate their ventures. Meet four advisors who are helping shape the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders—one insight at a time.
By
July 22, 2025

Posted in Community, Entrepreneurial Leadership

Side-by-side screenshots of the moment caught on camera
When Scandal Strikes the C-Suite: What Two Babson Professors Say Companies Should Do  A viral Coldplay kiss cam moment involving a CEO and human resources leader at a tech startup rocked the company to its core. Babson management professors provided insight into how ventures can survive a leadership scandal.
By
Hillary Chabot
Writer
Hillary Chabot
Hillary Chabot is a writer for Babson Thought & Action and Babson Magazine. An award-winning journalist, she is known for her insightful reporting and dedication to detailed storytelling. With a career spanning over two decades, she has covered a wide range of topics, from presidential campaigns and government policy to neighborhood issues and investigative series. As a reporter for The Boston Herald, Hillary earned a reputation for tenacity and integrity. Her work at Babson College fuels her passions—to learn something new every day and conduct thoughtful, empathic interviews. She’s thrilled to be at Babson College, where students, faculty, staff members and classes provide compelling copy daily.
July 21, 2025

Posted in Insights

Businesswoman practices deep breathing exercise at workplace desk
How Employees Navigate Mental Illness in the Workplace and What Employers Can Do to Help Emily Rosado-Solomon, an assistant professor at Babson, looks at how employees with mental illness handle their symptoms while at work, a topic that is understudied.
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.
July 17, 2025

Posted in Insights