Council for Inclusiveness and Community
In 2009, The Council for Inclusiveness and Community was formed by Chief Diversity Officer Elizabeth Thornton and President Schlesinger with the notion that instead of having one small task force, or one person or department tasked with the job of “diversity”, we should engage the entire community in the mission of diversity and inclusion. The strategy is to have the mission permeate the entire Babson community and embed principles of inclusiveness into internal operating processes such as faculty and staff recruiting, student affairs, the curriculum and the classroom. The Council was first announced in a theatrical event where students, faculty and staff created improvised skits to challenge the Babson community in a discussion regarding diversity and inclusion.
In Fall 2010, the Council co-sponsored the first fall kick-off event with eight different student groups, institutes and centers from all over campus. We wanted to truly show the power of collaboration for diversity initiatives. With our corporate partner; Liberty Mutual, the Council invited Spike Lee to visit our campus to engage in the “Spike Lee Business Challenge”. Spike Lee challenged the Babson students with two challenges related to the film making industry and students competed for the chance to present their solutions. View our photos on Flickr with for WAKE UP! Spike Lee Live at Babson College.
In Fall 2011, the Council worked with Daymond John, one of Babson's newest Entrepreneurs in Residence. Daymond John has worked on a variety of programming; including the kick-off of the Foundations in Management and Entrepreneurship course; the Butler Venture Accelerator Kick-off; a Management Consulting Field Experience (MCFE) team of graduate students working for one of his businesses from the ABC's Shark Tank show; and as a keynote speaker at Babson’s largest student run event, the Babson Entrepreneurship Forum. “Babson College is thrilled to have a world class entrepreneur like Daymond John teach and inspire our students,” said Prof. Elizabeth Thornton.