Babson in the 21st Century

• The first class to go through the new undergraduate curriculum, featuring the Intermediate Management Core (IMC I, II, and III), graduates.
• The Stephen D. Cutler Center for Investment Management is dedicated March 9.
• The Asia Institute at Babson is launched in July.

2001

• Babson Intel MBA Program is launched in May.
• On June 30, Leo Higdon ends his term as President of Babson.
• On July 1, Brian Barefoot, Class of 1966, becomes the 11th President of Babson.
• The Center for Women’s Leadership is founded.
• The “Miss Babson” and “Mr. Babson” contest begins.

2002

• Kelly Petersen-Fitzgerald MBA’03 becomes the first woman president of the Graduate Student Association.
• Brian Barefoot is inaugurated as the 11th President of Babson on September 20.
• Babson is awarded the 2002 Hesburgh Award from TIAA-CREEF for “Reinvention of Undergraduate Education.”

2003

• Information Technology Management is created as a new academic division.
• Donna Stoddard (Information Technology Management) receives Babson’s first National Science Foundation grant.
• The Reynolds Campus Center Coffee Bar is named for “Woody” Lapen on April 28.
• MBA Alumni Academy of Achievement is launched in May.
• The Institute for Family Enterprising (now the Institute for Family Entrepreneurship) is launched in September.
• The Fast Track MBA program begins.
• A new “bird’s eye” campus map is unveiled. The work was done by award-winning illustrator Laszlo Kubinyi.

2004

• Babson holds the first Martin Luther King Jr. Heritage Celebration on March 1.
• Babson becomes the first business school to become a member of the Posse Foundation.
• On October 23, the Board of Trustees votes to start a PhD program in entrepreneurship.

• Julian Simcock, Class of 2005, becomes Babson’s first ever Fulbright Scholar and travels to South Africa for research.
• Beginning with the spring issue, Babson Alumni Magazine is now called Babson Magazine.
• In July the Information Technology Management division is reorganized and renamed Technology, Operations and Information Management (TOIM).
• Information Technology Services Department announces the first Babson Portal in August.

2006

• On Founders Day, Robert K. Kraft and Earvin “Magic” Johnson are inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs^®.
• Patricia G. Greene becomes the provost July 1.

2008

• In January it is announced that on July 1, Leonard Schlesinger will become the 12th President of Babson.
• The entire first Posse class graduates.
• The inaugural class of Weissman Scholars enters in the fall.
• The 30th anniversary of the Writing Center and the 20th anniversary of the Speech Resource Center are celebrated.
• The Lewis Center is founded with a gift from Alan E. Lewis and Harriet R. Lewis to expand the College’s social entrepreneurship programs. AACSB (American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business) notes other member programs expanding their interests in social entrepreneurship.
• Leonard Schlesinger is inaugurated as the 12th President of Babson on October 17.
• In November Babson is accredited by EQUIS. It has accredited only three colleges in the United States, and only Babson has earned a five-year accreditation.

2009

• Babson announces participation in the Post-9/11 GI Bill^® Yellow Ribbon Program.
• Shahid Ansari, dean of faculty, professor of behavioral and managerial accounting, is named provost May 26.
• Babson, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, and Wellesley College launch a collaborative agreement to build on their geographic proximity and complementary curricula.
• More than 90 new venture ideas are presented by alumni and students at the 10th Annual Rocket Pitch.

2010

• Supported by the Student Government Association, Dining Advisory Board, and Babson Green Tower, Trim Dining Hall goes green by eliminating the use of trays.
• The Latin Entrepreneurship Forum hosts former Mexican president Vicente Fox to discuss entrepreneurial opportunities in that region.
• Director, producer, writer, and actor Spike Lee comes to the College to discuss diversity and inclusion, the keys to success in business.