Babson Earns Institution of Higher Learning of the Year Award for Supplier Diversity

Listen

Babson College was honored again for its excellence and leadership in supplier diversity, receiving the Institution of Higher Learning of the Year award from the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council (GNEMSDC). 

Jerry Epps holds the awards while posing for a photo with Sean Cogdell
Babson’s Jerry Epps (left, alongside Sean Cogdell, CEO of The Panther Group) accepts the GNEMSDC Institution of Higher Learning of the Year award.

The award specifically recognizes the College’s commitment to helping close the racial wealth gap by contracting with minority business enterprises. 

Jerry Epps, director of vendor diversity, accepted the award on behalf of Babson and credited the College’s senior management for their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

In the past year, Epps has collected several honors for his pioneering work since creating Babson’s Office of Vendor Diversity when he joined the College in August 2021. He received the CWE Advocate of the Year Award from the Center for Women & Enterprise, and he was named a 2023 Shining Star Award recipient by the GNEMSDC and a 2023 Top 25 Diversity Change Leader by DiversityPlus Magazine

Posted in Babson Briefs

More from Babson Briefs »

Latest Stories

Yearbook pictures of Bob Lufkin ’75, MBA’76 and Naomi (Shotten) Lufkin ’75
A Half-Century Perspective: A Class of 1975 Alumnus Reflects on Babson's No. 2 Ranking  With The Wall Street Journal again ranking Babson College the No. 2 Best College in America, Bob Lufkin ’75, MBA’76 reflects on how far the College has come.
By
November 7, 2025

Posted in Community

Babson students congregate in Babson Commons
Would You Work 72 Hours a Week? Here’s What Babson Students Say From burnout to ambition, Babson students debate the idea of working 12 hours a day, six days a week taking hold at some tech companies in Silicon Valley.
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.
November 5, 2025

Posted in Insights

Babson Professor Jeffrey Shay ’87, MBA’91, sits at a table with professors from Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Babson Works with HBCUs to Boost Entrepreneurship Education A case-writing program, which teaches participants how to develop a hallmark of business education, is one of several Babson initiatives with Historically Black Colleges and Universities that aim to empower entrepreneurial leaders and the professors who educate them.
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.
October 31, 2025

Posted in Entrepreneurial Leadership