On May 17, I will welcome the families and friends of the Class of 2008, and the entire Babson community, to our undergraduate and graduate commencement exercises. At our undergraduate ceremony in the morning, Deborah Bial, President and Founder of the Posse Foundation, and Myles Brand, President of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), will speak to the graduates and receive Honorary Degrees. Our speaker at the afternoon graduate school ceremony will be Thomas T. Stallkamp, Chairman of the Babson Board of Trustees and Chairman of Ripplewood Holdings LLC. Roseanna H. Means, MD, Founder of Women of Means, Inc., and Oleg V. Zherebtsov, Chairman and CEO of the Group Companies LENTA, will receive Honorary Degrees. It will be a great day for the entire Babson community—and the capstone to a terrific academic year.
On May 16: I will participate in the groundbreaking ceremony for the Upper Quad Improvement Project. The Young Alumni Development Committee has driven this project, which will be an ideal site for many kinds of student gatherings. Afterwards, I will welcome graduating seniors and their families at the senior awards ceremony, providing well-deserved recognition to students who received awards during their years at Babson. Later in the day, I will welcome graduate students and their families to a special ceremony for those who have received awards for their academic achievements, leadership, and service to Babson. These are important opportunities to congratulate our students for their many accomplishments.
On May 3, I provided welcoming remarks at the Senior Athletics Banquet. This event brings together our senior athletes, parents, and the athletics coaching staff—and recognizes our seniors for their athletic achievements. It also underscores the important contribution of athletics to the overall undergraduate experience.
On April 29, I listened to presentations of our Class of 2008 honors students, as well as congratulated the students and their parents at a special reception and dinner. Each honors student has successfully completed a challenging project during the senior year, and this is a great opportunity to recognize their accomplishments.
On April 9, I joined the entire community in celebrating Babson’s oldest tradition, Founder’s Day. The day featured business plan competitions and awards, a community lunch in Trim, the Glavin Symposium panel discussion with the new inductees of our Academic for Distinguished Entrepreneurs (ADE), and a dinner featuring the induction ceremony. It was a wonderful event! On April 3, I was at the Babson Rising Campaign kick-off in New York City. In addition to alumni, parents and other friends of the College, twenty faculty, staff, and students from Babson attended this event. By “bringing Babson to New York,” we provided a great opportunity for members of our community who are not on campus to get to know some of those who are part of our outstanding campus community. It was another way of celebrating the terrific people who make Babson so special.
On March 27, I introduced Erik Sirri, Director of Trading and Markets at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, at a Boston Business Breakfast Forum for Babson alumni and parents. Erik, who currently is on leave from Babson as a professor of finance, is a great example of what makes Babson faculty so distinctive: they bring their tremendous experience in the marketplace back into our classrooms.
On March 18, I was with alumni, students, and parents at the Babson Rising Campaign kickoff event in Coral Gables, Florida. It was the biggest party Babson has ever had in Florida—a terrific way to celebrate the great school Babson has become and the even greater school it will be as a result of a successful campaign.
On February 27, I was honored to receive special recognition at our MLK Jr. Legacy Day forum for bringing the Posse Program to Babson. Posse has become one of the College’s most important diversity initiatives ever, and has had a positive impact on the entire campus community.
On February 8, students, faculty, staff, governance, and their guests attended the President’s Ball at the Webster Center with Pam and me. It was the perfect opportunity to catch up and relax with good friends and colleagues.
On Thursday, January 31, a Special Town Meeting was held at the Sorenson Theater. Faculty, staff, and students turned out to meet Len Schlesinger, who will become Babson’s next President on July 1. I had the pleasure of introducing Tom Stallkamp, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, who introduced Len. It was the first time Len spoke to the community—and he was welcomed enthusiastically.
From January 18 to January 23, I was in Dubai, and then in Mumbai and Delhi, India meeting with alumni and friends of the College, many of whom are prominent business leaders in the region. Elaine Eisenman, Dean of Babson Executive Education (BEE), accompanied me on these visits. It was a great way of bringing Elaine together with international alumni who can use BEE programs to improve their company performance. It was also a terrific opportunity to continue to build the Babson brand globally.
On January 16, I joined the College’s leadership team to present our annual Service Awards to employees. These awards are an important way of recognizing faculty and staff for their years of service to Babson. I always look forward to another opportunity to personally thank those who have shown, time and again, their loyalty and commitment to the College.
On November 17, I spoke to members of the Saint Dunstan’s Church in Dover and others from the broader community at a seminar on ethics. The discussion focused on how we teach ethics to tomorrow’s business leaders in both the classroom and in experiential settings.
On November 1, I welcomed guests and introduced new inductees at our annual Twenty-five Year Club dinner. It’s an annual gathering that brings together current and former Babson faculty and staff with the longest connection to the college—and some of the most memorable Babson stories.
On October 19, I welcomed Babson alumni, students, parents, faculty, staff, and friends of the College to the kick-off for the largest campaign in Babson’s history. This very special event was held from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Intercontinental Hotel in Boston. It was a spectacular evening of fun and excitement.
On October 2, I welcomed our 7th Class of Fast Track MBA students to campus as part of their Orientation program. Fast Track offers working professionals a unique blended-learning format for obtaining an MBA, combining web-based study with face-to-face sessions.
On September 28 and 29, I had a lot of fun at Back to Babson—the largest alumni gathering of the year. The weekend featured many lively events for undergraduate and MBA alumni, as well as for current students. It was a terrific weekend for the entire community!
On September 27, I updated the Advisory Board of the Stephen D. Cutler Investment Management Center on the State of the College. The Cutler Center is the hub of Babson’s real world activities for students, faculty, staff, and alumni who are involved in the study of capital markets.
