Babson’s Inclusive Excellence Summit Highlights Expanding Opportunities
There’s always room around the Thanksgiving table for everyone. The relatives we may disagree with, the in-laws, the friends who need a place to celebrate—everyone’s welcome.
Serial entrepreneur and author Colette A.M. Phillips likens that vision of the Thanksgiving table to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
“What do we do at Thanksgiving?” she says. “We broaden the table, we add more chairs, we cook more food. Everyone has a seat, everyone has a meal, everyone feels like they belong. That’s my perspective, my lens of what true DEI is about.”
Phillips, a powerful leader on diversity in Boston, was speaking at the second annual Inclusive Excellence Summit at Babson College, where everyone has a seat at the table when it comes to DEI.
With the theme of “Looking Back, Moving Forward,” the summit last week at Knight Auditorium brought the Babson community together again. It was led by Sadie Burton-Goss, Babson’s chief diversity and inclusion officer, and supported by the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee, as well as the President’s Council.
In addition to the keynote address and a fireside chat with Phillips, the summit featured panel discussions focused on faculty, student, alumni, and staff initiatives, celebrating Babson’s achievements and milestones and advancing the College’s inclusive approach to DEI.
“We are becoming a more diverse community, and it has been a real strength of ours for a long time,” President Stephen Spinelli Jr. MBA’92, PhD said in his welcome remarks. “Leveraging that strength is what this conference is about and these discussions are about.”
Include Everyone
Phillips, the founder and president of Get Konnected! and the GK Fund, has been described by Boston Magazine as “Boston’s great connector.”
“You cannot talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion and then exclude anybody,” she said during her keynote address at Babson.
Her new book, The Includers, which was released earlier this year, explores how white allies can be advocates to expand diversity and create opportunities. She makes the case for ensuring that white men are at the table, noting the vast majority who lead organizations, companies, institutions, industries, and government. “You cannot have systemic and structural changes if you exclude the very people who are in the position, who have the power, the privilege, and the influence to make those changes,” she said.
She cited research that shows organizations and companies that are inclusive and diverse outperform their competitors two and a half times, and their profits are typically 35% more than their competitors. Having everyone participate in the conversations and solutions is critical to that success.
“DEI is not musical chairs. It’s not about replacement and displacement,” she said. “DEI is about leveling the playing field so that everyone has the opportunity and the access to leverage their God-given talents, their skill sets, and their merit so they could move up the ladder and succeed. It’s that simple. It doesn’t take anything away from anybody.”
Following her keynote address, Phillips participated in a fireside chat with Jane C. Edmonds, Babson’s vice president for programming and community outreach, and Donna Levin, CEO of The Arthur M. Blank School for Entrepreneurial Leadership.
Both Edmonds and Levin shared their personal connections with Phillips, who noted that a campus like Babson’s is an ideal environment to convene conversations around diversity and inclusion efforts.
Levin concluded by echoing Phillips’ Thanksgiving analogy, underscoring Babson’s commitment to expanding opportunities. “We need to just make more seats at the table,” she said. “We’re excluding no one.”
Serving Students
Babson’s DEI leaders demonstrated the College’s approach earlier in the summit with panel discussions about initiatives by and for faculty, students, alumni, and staff, as well as how DEI is being advanced in the centers and institutes of the Blank School.
“Ultimately, we’re about serving the student body, creating opportunity for them, putting them on the trajectory to achieve something special,” Spinelli said.
“We know every day that Babson has a different level of commitment and engagement to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.”
Sadie Burton-Goss, Babson’s chief diversity and inclusion officer
Among the initiatives to support students is the Office of Belonging and Inclusion, led by senior director Denicia Ratley. The new office, which merges Religious and Spiritual Life and Multicultural and Identity programs, oversees more than 30 religious, spiritual, identity, and cultural clubs led by undergraduate and graduate students.
“That’s embedded in the fabric of the community,” Spinelli said, noting there are 163 diversity-related events on campus this semester. “Those organizations virtually can touch every student on this campus.”
Other highlights from the student panel:
- The award-winning Glavin Office of International Education cited its IIE American Passport Project, which enables first-generation students to obtain their first U.S. passport to study abroad; and a new Leadership Across Difference Badge, a cocurricular experience for students.
- The undergraduate and graduate Centers for Career Development noted a host of recent initiatives, including the Professional Attire Program and increased professional development opportunities for grad students.
- U.S. Army Maj. Josh Tuxbury MBA’25, co-president of the Babson Veterans Club, spoke about Babson’s rewarding opportunities and support for active and retired military members.
Celebrating Together
On the faculty panel, four faculty members spoke about the impact of the Dean of Faculty Inclusive Excellence Committee, which was formalized in 2019. Associate Professor of Practice Michele Kerrigan, Associate Professor Tina Opie, Associate Professor Angela Randolph, and Professor Jerome Taillard shared the stories of their journeys and how the committee continues to expand structured diversity efforts for faculty, including training, events, research, funding, and more.
Other panel discussions detailed initiatives that engage alumni support, including the Gerri Randlett Got Your Back Fund and numerous affinity programs; as well as advancements for staff and human resources in hiring, training, and benefits.
“We know every day that Babson has a different level of commitment and engagement to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging,” Burton-Goss said. “But when you hear the stories of the initiatives themselves, by the people that are actually doing this work every day on behalf of our students, staff, faculty, and our alumni, it’s a brilliant and splendid moment. We know we have something to celebrate and that we can celebrate together.”
The successes and celebrations are ongoing. Burton-Goss recently led a group of 40 students, faculty, staff, and alumni that attended Mass Black Expo, the conference of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts. And, Babson was recognized for its long-term strategic commitment to DEI at the 26th annual Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Gala by World Unity Inc.
Burton-Goss said all of the efforts and achievements serve as inspiration to continue advancing DEI across the campus. “A day like today,” she said, “tells us that we are not finished with the work, we’re fully committed to the work, and that the future is even brighter than the present, in terms of what we can do for the entire community.”
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