History of Founder's Day
Founder's Day was first celebrated November 14, 1947 as a way of honoring Roger W. Babson. It should be noted that until her death in 1956, Roger's wife Grace Knight Babson was included in the ceremony befitting her position as virtual co-founder of the Babson Institute. The Founder's Day activities discussed the development of the Babson Institute as well as Babson's Reports, Utopia College, Webber College, and the Babson Statistical Organization.
After Mr. Babson's death Founder's Day was re-organized as an all-day discussion of the management of a specific industry. Guest speakers came to campus to discuss and debate Television News, Professional Football, and the Automobile Industry, among other things. In 1978 it focused on Entrepreneurship and with the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs it became Babson's annual celebration of the entrepreneurial spirit.
1978 Berry Gordy, Soichiro Honda, Ray Kroc, Royal Little, and Kenneth Olsen are the first inductees into the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs.
1979 Diane Von Furstenberg becomes the female member of the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs. This class includes Byung-Chull Lee, John Erik Jonsson, John H. Johnson, and Thomas Mellon Evans.
1980 The third class of inductees into the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs consists of Lewis E. Lehrman, Mary Wells Lawrence, Mary Hudson, and J. Peter Grace.
1981 Gustavo A. Cisneros, Undergraduate Class of 1968, becomes the first Babson graduate to be inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs. This class includes An Wang, Marcus Walenberg, and Franklin P. Perdue.
1982 Wally Amos, William C. Norris, and Carl G. Sonthemier are this year's new inductees into the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs.
1983 The 1983 class of the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs consists of Frederick W. Smith, Sidney R. Rabb, Frederick C. Hamilton (B.S.B.A. 1948), and Nolan K. Bushnell.
1984 This year's new members of the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs (ADE) are Heinz Nixdorf, John K. Hanson, John J. Cullinane, and Henry W. Bloch.
1985 The 1985 class of the ADE consists of Peter J. Sprague, Donald C. Burr, and Rubert Murdock.
1986 This year finds Ueli Prager, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, and Trammell Crow inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs.
1987 The Tenth Class is inducted in the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs. The new members are Sir John Marks Templeton and Gilbert Trigano.
1988 Kazuo Inamori, Edward Lowe, and J. Willard Marriott, Jr. are this year's new inductees into the Academy.
1989 The ADE adds Michael W. J. Smurfit, Patrick J. McGovern, and Alan Bond to its membership.
1990 Paul Fireman and Sandra L. Kurtzig are inducted into the Academy.
1991 The Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs taps Amar G. Bose, John R. Furman, and William G. McGowan as it newest members.
1992 Ewing Marion Kauffman, John C. Merritt (B.S.B.A. 1961), Anita Roddick, and Leslie H. Wexner are this year's new members of the ADE.
1993 Robert A. Swanson and Jacob Stolt-Nielson, Jr. are the 1993 Class of the ADE
1994 The ADE inducts Earl G. Graves and Leon A. Gorman as this year's new members.
1995 S. Robert Levine, Bernie Marcus, and Edward C. Johnson, 3rd join Craig R. Benson (BS 1977) and Arthur M. Blank (B.S.B.A. 1963) as this year's new inductees into the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs.
1996 The ADE offers membership to Richard Branson, Elly R. Callaway, A. Andronico Luksic, and Lillian Vernon.
1997 Willie D. Davis, Leo Kahn, Leslie C. Quick, Jr., and Thomas G. Stemberg are inducted into the ADE as its 20th class.
1998 Richard J. Egan and Abraham D. Grossman are inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs.
1999 The Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs inducts Ellen Gordon, Marie Gray, Robert Gray, and Masayoshi Son into its membership.
2000 The ADE inducts Pleasant T. Rowland, George N. Hatsopoulos, Robert Annunziata, and Patricia Gallup into the Academy.
2001 The 2001 Class of the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs consists of Robert Davis (MBA 1985), Kay Koplovitz, and Robert Rosenberg.
2002 Steven B. Dodge and Leonard Riggio are inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs.
2003 In separate ceremonies Ben Cohen and Michael R. Bloomberg are inducted into the ADE.
2004 The 58th Founder's Day is celebrated on April 23rd. The 25th Anniversary of the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs is featured with the premier of Lemonade Stories.
2005 was a day of reflection on Babson's past, present, and future.
2006 On Founder's Day Robert K. Kraft and Earvin "Magic" Johnson were inducted into the ADE.
2007 This year the Forbes family and Molson family were inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs.
On Founder's Day 2008 Ernesto Bertarelli (BS 1989), Lee Man Tat, and Sunil Bharti Mitta were inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs.
For more information on this year's Founder's Day activities or on entrepreneurship at Babson College please follow the links.
