Babson Collegewill host a core commitments student forum on April 3-5, 2009 to highlight how students can be catalysts in developing education for personal and social responsibility.

The forum, entitled Be the Change, is intended to reinforce the Core Commitments of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), who have partnered with Babson for the event.

Students from 23 campuses that are part of the nationally selected Core Commitments Leadership Consortium will pitch ideasrelated to educating peers for personal and social responsibility. The strongest ideas will be selected by a panel of judges for development by student teams over the course of the weekend, and the winning idea will be given a grant up to $5000 for implementation and evaluation. This model is used with great success in various Babson curricula and co-curricular programs to develop and implement student business ideas. 

"AAC&U is pleased to join with Babson College in providing a forum where students can meet across institutions and take a significant leadership role in educating their peers - and others - about issues of ethics, integrity, and social responsibility," said Nancy O'Neill, Director of Programs for AAC&U and Assistant Director of Core Commitments. "What better group is there to create programs that will resonate with students?"

“This forum will offer an unprecedented opportunity for students to come together and develop real plans for change on their campuses,” says Marissa Ferber, a Babson College senior and student leader on the Core Commitments and Be the Change planning teams. “While only one idea will receive funding, we hope that many of them will be acted on when they return to campus and have lasting impact on their peers, their institution and the world. “

Core Commitments is a national consortium of colleges and universities asked to lead the dialogue on developing personal and social responsibility in undergraduate students. This consortium focuses on five specific dimensions of personal and social responsibility- contribution to community, perspective-taking, excellence, integrity, and ethics.

“These dimensions have been and continue to be an important part of our undergraduate learning goals,” says Dennis Hanno, Dean of the Undergraduate School at Babson College. “The ideals represented in the Core Commitments are an important part of all that we do at Babson. The Be the Change forum will inspire students to shape the conversation around personal and social responsibility and become actively involved on initiatives related to the Core Commitments dimensions.”