Babson College
Public Relations
Babson Park, MA
02457-0310
Tel: 781-239-4548
|
|
 |
|
Release Date: 4/08/2003
Ben Cohen, Founder of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and TrueMajority, to Give Babson Students "Scoop" on Social Entrepreneurship
|
Wellesley, Mass…Ben Cohen, founder of Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc. and TrueMajority is dipping into more than ice cream these days. On April 8th at 2:30 p.m. in Olin Hall, the entrepreneur and social activist will deliver the keynote address at Babson College's day-long Celebration of Entrepreneurship. Cohen will encourage Babson students to join the new wave of social entrepreneurs, who will create a better world by improving industries such as healthcare, education, and cultural institutions.
Cohen is President of Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities and its TrueMajority (www.truemajority.com) campaign, a grassroots education and advocacy enterprise to promote American values of compassion, charity, and justice for a safer home and world. Through the power of the Internet, TrueMajority sifts through government policies and alerts its members to voice their opinions to Congress, en masse, through a deluge of emails, faxes, and phone calls coordinated through the organization's website. Cohen expects his nonprofit venture to harness the power of some 50 million members to better help them understand and influence major Congressional issues on everything from civil rights and the environment to feminism and world peace.
Cohen is also the Chairman of two social venture capital funds: The Barred Rock Fund, and Hot Fudge Ventures, which started SwearX, a sweatshop free clothing factory in Los Angeles that is unionized and pays a livable wage.
Stephen Spinelli, Jr., Director, Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship at Babson, says Cohen is unique in his creativity and has successfully introduced social responsibility to entrepreneurship. "Everything he does embraces a social value," says Spinelli, "And Ben Cohen has defied the textbook theory that a business engaged in social activities would take away from its bottom line. Ben & Jerry's became more successful as the company became more vested in social interests."
Babson will honor Cohen by inducting him into its prestigious Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs. Some of the world's most important and successful entrepreneurs have been inducted into the Academy including Robert Rosenberg (Dunkin' Donuts); Amar Bose (Bose Corporation); Richard Egan (EMC Corporation); New Hampshire Governor Craig Benson (Cabletron Systems); Arthur M. Blank (Home Depot); and Robert Davis (Highland Capital and Terra Lycos). All Academy entrepreneurs have created or capitalized on opportunities and developed businesses with dramatic impact.
Babson's Celebration of Entrepreneurship is April 8, 2003 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. sponsored by the Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship. Other highlights of the day include the Babson College Business Fair and the College's annual Business Plan Competitions. |
Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., is recognized internationally as a leader in entrepreneurial management education. Babson grants BS degrees through its innovative undergraduate program, and grants MBA and custom MS and MBA degrees through the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College. Babson Executive Education offers executive development programs to experienced managers worldwide. For information, visit www.babson.edu. |
|
