All About the Students: A New Role for a Campus Leader
Caitlin Capozzi loves to walk around Babson at the beginning of the school year. As the weather begins to turn from summer to fall, a hint of crispness hanging in the air, students once again fill campus with their familiar energy.
“They are talking of their summers and their internships,” says the longtime campus leader whose work revolves around student life. “They are coming back rested and energized and optimistic for what the year has ahead.”
This is the 14th academic year that Capozzi is starting at Babson. When she strolls near Horn Library, and sees the commemorative bricks in the walkway, she is reminded of her history here. “I love looking down at the bricks and seeing the names of the students I’ve crossed paths with,” she says.
This year, though, is a bit different for Capozzi, as she’s starting a new role, that of vice president for learner success and dean of campus life. In this key post, she will lead the division overseeing many of the activities and services that make up student life on campus, from the arts to athletics to housing to clubs to counseling. If something happens outside of the classroom, there’s a good chance that Capozzi and her team will be involved.
“It encompasses a lot of the programs, resources, and community building of campus that is outside the classroom but is designed to complement what happens in the classroom,” she says.
As Babson settles into September, Capozzi spoke about her new position and the school year ahead.
Continue the Momentum
Capozzi is taking over the student-focused College division known as Learner Success and Campus Life, which she has long been a part of. “The people I’m working with are colleagues I’ve worked with for many years,” Capozzi says.
Capozzi formerly served as Babson’s dean of students, and for much of her time at the College, she lived on campus. When she was first married, she and husband Brian lived in Van Winkle Hall. When she brought her daughters, Evangeline and Natalie, home from the hospital, Capozzi’s growing family lived in a Babson-owned home near the Westgate entrance. “This place has taken care of me and my family,” she says.
Capozzi worked closely with her division’s last leader, Lawrence P. Ward, who left Babson in the summer to become the president of the University of Hartford. “He left this place better than he found it,” she says. “I absolutely want to continue the momentum that Larry built.”
Over his 10 years at Babson, Ward and his team worked to build much needed student engagement. Over time, students had seemed to become less interested in forming organizations, going to events, and generally being involved in the life of the College. That has changed, as evident by popular campus happenings such as the spirited bingo games held in the Len Green Recreation and Athletics Complex.
“I have seen a real return to community,” Capozzi says. “There is a real sense of community and tradition we have gotten back to.”
She also credits Ward for laying the groundwork for what has become the new Office of Belonging and Inclusion. “It is an office where students can be seen and feel valued and supported in their identities at Babson,” Capozzi says. “It is critically important.”
All About the Students
A notable focus for Capozzi and her team this year will be the Herring Family Entrepreneurial Leadership Village (HELV), which made its much anticipated opening this fall. Capozzi calls the living and learning community a “collider space.” With its classrooms and coffee house, HELV is a potential place for students to socialize and run into people they know, much like Horn, Trim Dining Hall, and Reynolds Campus Center.
“Having those social spaces to collide and share ideas are important,” says Capozzi, who will be looking into how to incorporate HELV into the life of the Babson campus.
“For me, I always want the student experience to be the front and center of everyone’s mind at Babson. Ultimately, it’s about the students. I don’t ever want to lose sight of that.”
Caitlin Capozzi, vice president for learner success and dean of campus life
Capozzi says that her division is often associated with social gatherings. “We bring the fun,” she says. “That is part of it.” More than that, though, the division is about the well-being and development of students. Much growth and learning can happen in the hours outside of class.
If students are running an organization, for instance, Capozzi’s team helps them to reflect on that responsibility. “This is a transformative experience for our students,” she says.
In all her work, Capozzi aims to listen to students and hear about their concerns and feedback. “For me, I always want the student experience to be the front and center of everyone’s mind at Babson,” she says. “Ultimately, it’s about the students. I don’t ever want to lose sight of that.”
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