For Rich Hanna, Experiential Teaching Means Never Stop Learning

“I firmly believe that I have to know how to do it to teach it,” said Hanna, professor of practice in marketing and director of Babson’s new Master of Science in Management in Business Creation (MSBC) program. “That means I’m willing to get my hands dirty and figure it out.”

That philosophy has shaped Hanna’s career since he joined Babson 12 years ago.

A Boston native with family ties to higher education, Hanna came to academia after careers in public relations and business-to-business sales. He earned a doctorate in marketing and statistics from Boston University just as digital marketing was beginning to transform business. After teaching at Boston College and Northeastern University, he realized he wanted something different from traditional academic life.

“I was always sort of an entrepreneur at heart,” Hanna said. “Working with businesses more closely and doing things that were more impactful—that inspired me.”

Babson proved to be the right fit. At a time when few business schools emphasized digital marketing, Hanna built courses grounded in practical application rather than theory alone.

One early experience cemented that approach. After a Babson alumnus who led media strategy at VaynerMedia visited one of his classes, Hanna spent two days shadowing the executive in New York, learning firsthand how a leading agency approached digital campaigns. He returned to campus and revamped his course so students would leave with skills employers actually needed.

Making Lessons Relevant

His teaching continues to evolve alongside his consulting work. Through Babson’s Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, Hanna works directly with entrepreneurs, helping them solve real marketing challenges.

More recently, he advised two startup fencing clubs—trading business consulting for lessons for his son—giving him another opportunity to test the same marketing and pricing strategies he teaches in class. “I moved from just teaching to doing it and teaching it,” he said.

For Hanna, relevance is what separates a good class from a memorable one.

“If I can’t make it relevant to you, you won’t fully hear what I’m saying,” he said. “I feel like, to teach, we have to make it relevant.”

That mindset also influenced a major career decision. Rather than pursue a traditional tenure-track path, Hanna helped create Babson’s professor of practice designation, allowing faculty to remain deeply engaged with industry while bringing those experiences back into the classroom.

Now, as director of Babson’s new master’s program focused on launching new ventures, Hanna sees another opportunity to connect learning with action. Students won’t simply study entrepreneurship, they’ll also build their own businesses while earning their degree.

For Hanna, that’s what Babson has always done best: giving students an education that’s immediately useful, taught by faculty who never stop learning themselves.