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A celebration of 100 years as a leader in entrepreneurship education.

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Then:1919

Twenty-seven students take a pledge to embark on a business career as a means of rendering service to humanity.

Roger Babson

Roger Babson, an American entrepreneur, economist, and business advisor, is best remembered for founding Babson College

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First Class September 3, 1919

Babson holds its first class of 27 students in the Wellesley Hills, Mass., home of Roger and Grace Babson

1919–1944

From Founding through WWII

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1945–1967

From Institute to College

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1968–1999

Growing into a Regional Player

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2000–2010

Babson in the 21st Century

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2011–2018

Babson begins to expand its reach, establishing small-footprint, high-impact hubs in global gateway cities

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2013–2019

Dr. Kerry Healey takes office as the 13th and first woman President of Babson in July 2013

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#DearBabson Campaign January 16–25, 2019

Global alumni, students, faculty, and staff launched the Centennial by sharing their gratitude for Babson

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Centennial Presidents’ Fireside Chat February 8, 2019

The community convened for a fireside chat to discuss Babson’s past, present, and future

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Honoring the Past

Founded by Roger Babson in 1919, Babson Institute asked its students to pledge to embark on a business career as a means of rendering service to humanity. Let’s take a look back at 100 years of changing how the world does business.

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Roger Babson

The Founder

Roger Babson

From humble New England roots, Roger Babson—the College’s founder and first President—crafted a legacy of innovation, philanthropy, and entrepreneurial leadership that has endured for a century.

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Historical Documents and Books

Babson historical documents

Historical Documents

In 1994, as part of the celebration of the College’s 75th anniversary, retired professor John Mulkern wrote a detailed history of the College.

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Roger Babson books

Roger Babson’s Books

Roger Babson was a prolific writer who published more than 50 books. His writings range from the fundamentals of business, to a tourist’s guide to Cape Ann, to the importance of religion in daily life.

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Babson World Globe

Babson World Globe

Measuring 28 feet in diameter and weighing 25 tons, the Babson World Globe was the brainchild of Roger Babson and his grandson Roger Webber. It was meant to impress upon students an appreciation of the world as a whole.

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Ralph Sorenson

An Entrepreneurial History

Babson Through the Eyes of President Emeritus Sorenson

In his memoir, President Emeritus Ralph “Bud” Sorenson illustrates an important truth: being entrepreneurial goes far beyond starting new businesses. The entrepreneurial mindset, he says, applies to all aspects of life.

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Our History

Roger Babson with associate, Leroy D. Peavey, in the Stuart Building

Roger Babson with W.B. Wilson, Secretary of Labor, at the White House in 1919

Babson Institute

Flyer sent to Roger Babson’s business clients to advertise the opening of Babson Institute

Babson Institute

Babson Institute

Groundbreaking for the Newton Library in 1938

Knight Auditorium

Knight Auditorium, the gift of Grace Babson, was named in honor of her father, the Reverend Richard Knight

Park Manor

Babson Park Club House (now Park Manor South) was a hotel and residence hall that opened in 1925

Tomasso

The Sir Isaac Newton Library, dedicated in 1939, honored the British scientist who influenced Roger Babson

The Newton apple tree on campus is an offshoot of a Pennsylvania tree that was grown from a graft of Isaac Newton’s own tree in England

Relief map Babson

The world's largest relief map of the United States housed in the Coleman building

Babson Institute

The Coleman Map Building was completed in 1925 and served as a museum, classroom space, and residence hall

Relief map

Looking down on the map from above, viewers see the United States as might an astronaut in orbit 700 miles above Earth

Babson clock tower

Architect’s drawing for Newton Library tower

Babson students

Babson Institute

Babson study programs

Babson Boulders

Roger Babson hired unemployed stonecutters to carve mottoes on boulders in a large tract of land he owned in Dogtown, Gloucester

Babson chart

Professor Earl Bowen teaching the Babson chart, a method of forecasting business trends, in his statistics class

Students punching a time clock in Lyon Hall

Babson students

Students still adhered to the Institute’s strict dress code in the 1930s

Edith Babson Mustard (front row) with the Class of 1923

Students dictate into an Ediphone so that their letters and reports could be transcribed by secretaries

Carl Smith

Military Babson

Babson campus is turned over to the U.S. Navy Supply Corps School during World War II

Babson administration

Roger Babson and Dean of Faculty John J. Horner (center) join an adult education class in 1946

Babson Institute

Edward Hinckley

Grace Babson receives a silver pitcher from President Hinckley in 1951

Woodland Hill

In 1951, Woodland Hill provided housing for married students

Babson students

Babson students in the 1950s

Babson College

Babson Institute becomes Babson College in 1969

Babson College

Babson Institute becomes Babson College in 1969

Gordon Trim

Forest Hall was once the Convalescent Home, the property of Boston Children’s Hospital and a place for polio patients to recuperate

Frank Genovese

President Trim named professor Frank Genovese director of the new Babson Evening Graduate School in 1961

Trim Dining Hall opened following President Trim’s unexpected death in 1961

Henry Kriebel

The Dry Dock in Park Manor was a popular snack bar through the 1970s

Nona Dougherty

Roger Babson’s second wife Nona Dougherty stands by the Dougherty gate, named in memory of her parents

Babson Executive Education

Former president Ralph Sorenson, president William Dill, dean of continuing management education Douglas Ready, Phil Peters, chairman of the board of trustees Richard Snyder, and Melvyn Copen break ground for the Center for Executive Education in 1986

Babson campus

Babson Educational Center

The Educational Center (now Horn Library, Humphries Plaza, Kriebal, Gerber, and Babson Halls) was envisioned as a complex of multipurpose buildings with classrooms, laboratories, faculty offices, a computer center, and more

Babson Hall

Roger Babson’s cousin Paul Babson breaks ground for Babson Hall

President Kriebel with Harry Humphries ’54 at the dedication of Humphries Plaza in front of the library

Paul Staake

Paul Staake, dean of students and vice president of student affairs

Putney

Freeman Putney, executive vice president and treasurer of Babson Institute from 1941 to 1964

John Millea

Former dean John Millea at the 1969 reunion

Horn Library

A $4.3 million gift from the Olin Foundation made possible construction of the Horn Library, which opened in May 1980

Ralph Sorenson

William Bygrave

Professor William Bygrave teaches a class in Tomasso Hall, the old Isaac Newton Library

Babson College

Babson security tags a car on Babson Park Avenue, now a walkway closed to automobiles

Walter Carpenter

Walter Carpenter joined Babson in 1947, serving as vice president of academic affairs and dean of faculty

William Dill

A 1950s view of Babson Institute

Babson Executive Center

The Center for Executive Education opened in March 1987 with 15 classrooms, a large dining room, and 130 bedrooms

Babson Executive Education

Professor J.N.M. Kassarjian leads an Executive Education seminar

Professor Allan Cohen leads a class in the late 1980s

US News Ranking 1994

In 1994, U.S. News & World Report named Babson the best business specialty school for the sixth straight year

Babson International Festival

Students participate in Babson’s International Festival in 1990

Babson International Student Organization

Babson International Student Organization is established in 1975

BISO

Babson International Student Organization is established in 1975

Babson Dance Ensemble

Babson Dance Ensemble rehearses for a performance

Bich-Ngan Nguyen

Bich-Ngan Nguyen ’90, a student advisor, helping new students at orientation

Elizabeth McCarthy

Elizabeth McCarthy ’78 was the first woman editor in chief of the Babson Free Press

Babson students

Babson became fully coeducational in the late 1960s, and women comprised 36 percent of the undergraduate population by 1994

Latin American students

After World War II, students from Latin America replaced Canadians as the dominant international group on campus

Sumalee Kongkatong

Sumalee Kongkatong ’91 of Thailand joined Babson’s first International Week

Graduates of the Class of 1993

Wellesley Hills railroad station

Many Babson Institute students enjoyed the proximity of the Wellesley Hills railroad station because they did not have cars

Babson snack bar

Before the Dry Dock, an earlier Babson Institute snack bar was located in Hollister

Babson musicians

Charles Carlsson and William Mason, Class of 1938, entertain fellow students

Babson dorm room

Meals were a formal affair in Park Manor, where students dined in coats and ties

Pool and table tennis facilities were added to Park Manor in the 1930s

Babson basketball

Before Babson had an athletic program, students made their own teams, and after the opening of Peavey Gynmnasium in 1924, basketball became a popular sport

Babson air field

Babson Institute had an emergency landing strip on the upper field in the early days of aviation

Dan Gerber

Dan Gerber ’20 arrived at Babson in 1919 in a Cadillac, when most other students did not own automobiles

Babson Soccer

The 1979 soccer team won Babson’s second national Division III championship

Babson orientation

During orientation, first-year and transfer students learn about cocurricular activities

Babson students

A 1969 masquerade party at Publishers Hall

Babson students

An antiwar banner hangs from the balcony at Knight Auditorium during a protest meeting against the Vietnam War

Babson student radio

Mike Birch ’73 and Linda Knox work at the student radio station

Babson Free Press

Students prepare an issue of the Babson Free Press

Michael Hobbs

Michael Hobbs ’92 was the college's first four-time All-American

Bobby Fuller

Bobby Fuller ’92 played on Babson’s first men's basketball team to play in an NCAA® championship competition

Babson hockey

The 1983-1984 hockey team won championships in both the NCAA® Division III and ECAC Division II

Amy Fairclough

Amy Fairclough ’81 during a swim meet

Babson women soccer

The 1992 women’s soccer team

Terry Jackson

Terry Jackson ’92 was on the 1991 soccer team that made it to the final four NCAA®Division III competition

Webster Center

The Recreation and Special Events Center is renamed as the Webster Center in memory of R. Howard Webster '32

Babson women basketball

Betsy Willgos ’93 was a captain of the 1992-1993 women’s basketball team, the first women's team in Babson’s history to compete in an NCAA®Division II championship

Babson MBA

Babson students in an MBA class in the 1980s

William Glavin

Pamela Gill

Pamela Gill M'93 uses a software program to study Japanese before going to Japan to work as an intern at a hotel in Osaka

Juan Fernandez

Juan Fernandez '92 was a driving force behind GIVE, Babson's volunteer organization, and later became director of the program

Relief Map restorations

The Great Relief Map was in disrepair until major renovation was undertaken in 1979

Van Winkle Hall

In 1993, Van Winkle Hall was the newest and largest residence hall on campus, named in honor of Arthur Van Winkle '32

Malloy Hall

Knight Annex became Malloy Hall after James B. Malloy '51

Babson College

Sent to Babson by the U.S. Army, Gloria Raven '90 celebrates her graduation with family

Elizabeth Powell

Trustee Elizabeth Powell MBA'76 (left) at the dedication of the women's staff locker room, her gift to the college