Students at Babson Commons

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Entrepreneurial Leaders Value Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)

At Babson, we believe that true entrepreneurs create both economic and social value, and that to lead successfully you must lead inclusively. This theme runs throughout all of our courses and programs—but it must go further. Advancing DEI throughout the Babson community is a critical objective, both for our own community and the impact we have in the world. This work is continuous. Through community collaboration, we hope to keep learning and improving in meaningful ways to benefit communities everywhere.

We also know that belonging is an important aspect of any DEI initiative and goal, and we are proud of the spaces Babson has helped create for its students and staff with the following:

Sadie Burton-Goss, Chief Diversity and Equity Officer
Please join me in recommitting to these ideals and aspiring to end systemic racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, Asian hate, xenophobia, homophobia, sexism, among other groups, as well as social injustice everywhere. In the spirit of all who fight for a better day, we must believe that together, we have the power to determine what happens next in our own lives, on this campus, and in the world.
Sadie Burton-Goss, PhD
Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer

Belonging at Babson

Belonging is an important aspect of any DEI initiative and goal, and we are proud of the spaces Babson has helped create for its students and staff.

21

Undergraduate Diverse Student Clubs

10

Graduate Diverse Student Clubs

12

Employee Resource Groups

42% Women in 2022

2022 Student Body

Undergraduate Women: 42%
Graduate Women: 42%

37% increase in enrolled international students

2022 International Students

37% increase in enrolled international students, representing 84 countries.

$9 Million Invested in FY22

Money applied to student scholarships, and to recruit and retain students who contribute to diversity within the community. Our first-year class included 32% underrepresented minority students, the largest in Babson history.

Making Progress Through Dialogue

To help facilitate important conversations, Babson has implemented DEI training for faculty, staff, and students. Who completed training? (as of June 2022)

» 98% of Employees
» 97% of New Undergraduates
» 89% of New Graduate Students

Shakenna K. Williams, Executive Director, CWEL
Babson has created something that is revolutionary. We’re creating this opportunity, this movement of change and empowerment.
Shakenna Williams '94
Executive Director of the Frank & Eileen™ Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership
Founder of the Black Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership program
Babson Tulsa Lab

The Power of Partnerships to Uplift & Heal

Babson’s WIN® program supports women entrepreneurs and local economies in Tulsa. It’s located inside the Greenwood Women’s Business Center, one of the only buildings saved from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Before the attack, the area was an economic hub for the Black community—Black Wall Street. 

The experience on the ground in Tulsa was one of profound grief, introspection, and ultimately inspiration. I am inspired to partner with colleagues from the local colleges to share our students’ innovation and talents to help existing businesses grow and scale.”

Natalie Joseph
Director of Babson’s Multicultural and Identity Programs

 

Read the Story

Strategic Diversity and Inclusion Goals

Three pillars—culture, curriculum, and community—guide Babson’s diversity and inclusion strategy and represent the three major areas of focus for our efforts.

Culture

The attitudes and intellectual manifestations of our students, staff, faculty, and alumni

  • Create, foster, and preserve an inclusive and welcoming cultural climate for all
  • Create an organizational structure to support our diversity and inclusion goals

Curriculum

The subject matter we are teaching in the classroom

  • Ensure that faculty development, classroom experience curriculum, and cocurriculum support our mission and strategic diversity and inclusion goals
  • Foster, promote, and support diversity- and inclusion-related resources and research advancing our mission

Community

The Babson fellowship of people from students to members of partner organizations

  • Attract, recruit, develop, and retain a diverse student body
  • Attract, recruit, develop, and retain diverse faculty, staff, and administrators
  • Engage and support external partners in diversity-related initiatives advancing our mission
  • Communicate, promote, and celebrate efforts, events, initiatives, and individuals advancing diversity and inclusion of all kinds for Babson College and the Babson community worldwide

2023 Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Day Event

Occurred on February 1, 2023
LaTosha Brown

Keynote Speaker: LaTosha Brown
The Martin Luther King Legacy Day Committee is thrilled to announce that our keynote speaker will be voting rights activist, advocate, and visionary leader LaTosha Brown.
 
LaTosha is a contributor to The New York Times op-ed page and a Senior Practice Fellow at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. As co-founder of the Black Voters Matter Fund organization, LaTosha is dedicated to increasing the political power of Black people.

2023 Black History Month Events at Babson

2023 Black History Month

For Black History month, Babson is committed to providing a number of different events to recognize this important month. Download the PDF to learn more and please contact DEI@babson.edu if you have any questions.

Babson Alumni Focused on DEI

Babson focuses its teaching approach on entrepreneurial leadership, and those lessons can have an impact well beyond the classroom when it comes to DEI. Below are only a few of the many examples from Babson alumni.

Aaron Walton, Founder & CEO, Walton Isaacson

Aaron Walton ’83

Founder & CEO, Walton Isaacson

“We believe innovation is driven by diversity—blending people, skills and passions from diverse backgrounds for greater creativity and better business results.”

Jeffery Perry ’87, P’23, Chair, Babson Board of Trustees

Jeffery Perry ’87, P’23

Chair, Babson Board of Trustees

Jeffery Perry ’87, P’23 was elected chair of the Babson Board of Trustees, and is the board’s first Black chair. Perry is a strong believer in early-access programs and hopes to help the College create more opportunities for students that they might not otherwise have.

Tim Ryan, U.S. Chairman and Senior Partner, PwC

Tim Ryan ’88

U.S. Chairman and Senior Partner, PwC

“Not many accountants moonlight as activists. But Tim Ryan, the senior partner at PwC, has spent the past five years trying to make his company a model inclusive workplace, and advocating for more diversity in the rest of corporate America.”

Yulkendy Valdez ’17, Business owner/ DEI consultant

Yulkendy Valdez ’17

Business Owner/DEI Consultant

Lauren Von Stackelberg ’12

Lauren Von Stackelberg ’17

Deep history with some great brands, including current role at LEGO Group as Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer

The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council

The re-imagined DEI Council is an inspiring team of campus leaders for student, staff, faculty, and alumni DEIB initiatives. On any given day, there is something life-changing going on led by these dedicated Babson professionals.

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