Message From the Provost

As Provost and Chief Academic Officer of Babson College, I have the privilege of overseeing the implementation of Babson’s academic programs by a highly talented group of students, faculty and staff. 

As you navigate these web pages you will learn more about the various units of Babson College that report to the Provost – the Undergraduate School, the Graduate School, the various research Centers, Babson Executive Education, and Babson Global. All these units collectively do the excellent work that has made Babson College Number 1 in entrepreneurship education for nearly two decades.

Babson is a living learning laboratory which delivers a rigorous learning experience both in and out of the classroom. Our academic excellence is based on a curriculum, pedagogy, and co-curricular experiences that are captured in the following two concepts:

• Entrepreneurial Thought and Action^® represents the mindset and method that gives our graduates the ability to use predictive logic or creation logic as demanded by the level of uncertainty they face.  Unlike other schools that rely exclusively on the scientific method to train general and functional managers, we believe that the practice of management has much to learn from the mindset and methods that entrepreneurs bring to their work. We make sure that like the best entrepreneurs, our graduates learn to reflect deeply on who they are, the context in which they are situated, and act from a set of values that recognizes the need for simultaneous consideration of social, economic, environmental responsibility and sustainability.
• Entrepreneurs of All Kinds™ captures the idea that regardless of their career choice -- starting new businesses, leading social or nonprofit ventures, managing businesses of all sizes, working as finance professionals, lawyers or educators, growing family businesses, or leading public sector or civic organizations – Babson equips its graduates with the mindset and method that allows them to capitalize on opportunities to create value for their organizations and for the world.

Our programs produce students who are cognitively ambidextrous. On the one hand they apply an entrepreneurial mindset and methodology to experiment with new ideas and act in new environments; on the other they apply deep functional knowledge and detailed analysis to plan future actions.

Sincerely,

Shahid Ansari
Provost, Babson College