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Dear Babson Community:

Over the past year, the Babson community has worked collaboratively to advance three critical objectives outlined by President Spinelli: manage the COVID-19 crisis; promulgate the College’s strategic plan; and advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Our College strategy prioritizes DEI as a key strength in entrepreneurial leadership, and our shared focus has catalyzed new initiatives and strengthened existing efforts across the College. A broad constellation of committees — with student, faculty, staff, and alumni representation — has contributed to a roadmap that thoughtfully advances DEI and creates transparency and accountability to support our ongoing success. 

Today, I’m writing to share an update on our collective efforts and progress from that roadmap, and highlight ongoing opportunities for students, employees, and alumni to engage in this work: 

Students:  

• Intentional Diversity: This year, Babson invested more than $9 million in student scholarships to recruit and retain students who contribute to the diversity of our community. Our first-year class arriving this fall includes 32% underrepresented minority students—the largest number in Babson history. 
• Learning Experience: Thanks to the initiative and leadership of Babson faculty, DEI is now being integrated across undergraduate and graduate programs. DEI is now one of five learning themes within the undergraduate curriculum. It will be woven into the undergraduate core and embedded in curricular experiences such as Foundations in Management and Entrepreneurship. The Graduate School will integrate DEI into the student experience during on-boarding and integrative project work, into the curriculum via diversifying teaching materials and contexts, and into the fabric of the graduate school community through on-going conversations via interest and affinity groups.
• Co-Curricular Engagement: Diversity learning opportunities increased by 40%, enabled by the College’s support of student participation in diversity related conferences, facilitation of conversations about identity stereotypes, ongoing Global Mindset training, and a new mentorship program pairing more than 25 students (including 20 Diversity Leadership Scholars) with 21 alumni mentors. Strengthened by feedback and data, the mentorship program will continue this fall and offer tailored experiences to support students’ personal and professional development. 
• Training: In February, the College launched a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Learning Platform (Everfi) designed to provide a foundation for inclusion and equity. Sixty percent of undergraduates and 40% of graduate students completed the pilot program. Going forward, DEIB learning will be incorporated into orientation programs to provide students with a shared understanding of Babson’s community expectations and values around DEI. 
• Career Outcomes: Last year, starting salaries for Black undergraduate students were the highest in the history of the College: $62,140.00. Six months after graduation, 99% of the Class of 2020 was employed or continuing their education. 

Faculty:

• Dean of the College Inclusive Excellence Committee and Faculty Training:  Established by VP Matsuno, the Dean of the College Inclusive Excellence Committee (DoCIE) advances faculty diversity and development. In partnership with the DoCIE, the Center for Engaged Learning & Teaching (CELT), has developed the College’s first Inclusive Teaching Training Program (ITTP for faculty), to be implemented this summer and fall 2021 with Everfi training as prerequisite.
• Anti-Racist Pledge: The Faculty Senate voted unanimously on an Anti-Racist statement pledging to work with existing Babson DEI committees, councils, and clubs to provide more DEI learning, engagement, and action.

Employees:  

• Training Opportunities: Ninety-eight percent of staff managers completed live DEI learning sessions, which concluded in April. Now, individual contributor staff are completing modules on the new DEIB platform (Everfi), with 91% participation to date.  
• Living our Values: Through our strategic planning process, members of the Babson community refined the College’s long-standing core value focused on Diversity, and expanded it to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,. To hold ourselves accountable, we have formalized DEI as a competency expectation for all employees in our values based performance assessments. 
• Collaborative Leadership: Babson’s current President’s Council is the most diverse in College history. 
• Employee Resource Groups: Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) play a vital role in building inclusive affinity groups for Babson’s increasingly diverse employees. There are eleven ERGs and five core identity-based groups. As the number of these groups increased this year, so has the programming and support they provide. 

Alumni and Ecosystem: 

• Alumni Engagement: The Office of Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving is re-aligning its efforts with the College’s strategic priorities and working with alumni volunteers and campus partners to create a comprehensive alumni engagement approach. As of July 1, the office has been charged with facilitating a holistic alumni engagement strategy that provides affinity groups with a cohesive, consistent structure. Babson is fortunate to have many alumni working to advance DEI efforts at the College. In collaboration with those partners, and as part of a redesigned engagement strategy, Babson has launched a new affinity group, the Babson Black Alumni Alliance (BBAA). 
• Thought Leadership: Babson produced the first Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) US special report on Black entrepreneurs in America. The report generated 107 million impressions and a Harvard Business Review article. Additionally, Babson’s Arthur M. Blank School for Entrepreneurial Leadership is currently developing three new diverse protagonist cases.
• Programming for a Lifetime of Learning: Through the BEE and the Babson Academy, Babson introduced new DEI education offerings for academic and corporate partners with the engagement and content of our renowned entrepreneurship Centers and Institutes.
• Supporting Entrepreneurs: Babson’s Frank & Eileen™ Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (F&E CWEL) launched the Black Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Program, an online accelerator designed specifically for Black women entrepreneurs that engaged 90 participants from 16 states.
• These are just a few examples of the progress we’ve made as a collaborative and connected community. We know there is considerable and urgent work to be done as we take this journey together. We also know that in the past, we haven’t always gotten it right. We are proceeding with humility and active learning. As a community of entrepreneurial leaders, we care deeply about diversity, equity, and inclusion, and commit to being intentional about creating meaningful and sustainable change. Our work together is ongoing. I encourage you, as an important member of this diverse community, to continue to build the One Babson we aspire to be. Please reach out with any questions.

Thank you for your ongoing efforts to advance Babson’s vision and build an increasingly diverse, equitable and inclusive community. I wish you a safe and relaxing summer and look forward to seeing you this fall.

Best,

Sadie Burton-Goss, Ph.D.
Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer

The Diversity and Inclusion Council

As members of Babson’s Diversity and Inclusion Council, we join President Spinelli and other Babson leaders in the acknowledgement and mourning of the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery and those unnamed. We extend condolences to their families, to those impacted in the Babson community, and to the world at large.

Over the weekend, protests and riots have continued all over the country. The world is watching as the United States confronts the systemic and institutional racial realties of this nation with anger, rage and grief. Our situation is rooted in our history of slavery, racism and inequality in our political and economic systems. With hope, we are acknowledging this time in our history as a turning point. We see opportunities to turn the tide of racism and its violent outcomes, and begin a new era of equity and inclusion. Join us. Many of our students, staff, faculty and alumni have done a lot of work to address diversity, equity and inclusion at Babson, as evidenced in the attached partial listing of initiatives already established and in process. There is still so much more to be done, however. We must recommit to these efforts and continue to work together.

One framework for our efforts – Conversations for Understanding - was developed by PwC after an incident of police violence impacted their community. While at home in his apartment one evening, a black male PwC employee was shot and killed by a female police officer who had mistakenly entered the apartment, thinking it was her own. The experience of one of their own being killed in this way rocked the entire firm. In response, Babson alumni, and PwC CEO Tim Ryan did more than articulate regret. As he witnessed the overwhelming hurt and grief expressed by his colleagues of every race, he understood that the entire PwC community had been deeply affected and that racism and unconscious bias hurts us all. Tim founded the Conversations for Understanding program at PwC to provide all employees training, opportunities for dialogue, and a stronger awareness of biases, racism and how to create inclusion at PwC. He then expanded that vision to invite over 800 CEOs, senior leaders and their organizations to pledge to take action to do the same. President Spinelli and Babson are among this group.

Conversations for Understanding at Babson

Starting this week, building on initiatives already underway, we will engage in a series of conversations for understanding. You will see ongoing communications and invitations to participate in many of these meetings, discussions and events. We invite all members of the Babson community to join in and help us create the inclusive and equitable college that we strive to be, by having the difficult conversations that help us to understand our diverse experiences. Below is a list of special events and ongoing initiatives. Please reach out to members of the Diversity and Inclusion Council if you have questions, feedback or suggestions for how we can respond to calls for racial justice in our country by working for personal and systemic change here at Babson.

Trustee DE&I Committee This is a closed session for these trustee committee members only.
Tuesday, June 2

A Special Prayer Circle will be hosted by Denicia Ratley, Jan Holton and Sadie Burton-Goss. Faculty, students and staff are all welcome.
Wednesday, June 3 12-12:30
Contact: Denicia Ratley – dratley@babson.edu

Babson Ebony Network Employee Resource Group (ERG) will host a special virtual meeting
Wednesday, June 3 12-1 PM
Contact: Michael Bruny – mbruny@babson.edu, Temitope Bajulaiye - tbajulaiye@babson.edu, Rachelle Jean-Louis - rjeanlouis@babson.edu, Denicia Ratley - dratley@babson.edu

Race Conversations Employee Resource Group (ERG) will host a special virtual meeting Friday, June 5, 12-1 PM
Contact: Saadia Ahmad - sahmad@babson.edu, Stephen Clifford - sclifford@babson.edu 

All Council Summer Virtual Summit  The Diversity and Inclusion Council will hold their annual meeting this year.
Tuesday, June 16, 12-2:30 This meeting will be open to all faculty and staff
Contact: Sadie Burton-Goss – sburtongoss@babson.edu

Diversity and Inclusion: Office of the President

Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives and Plans Underway

Leadership Briefings – Babson’s annual Diversity and Inclusion leadership briefings will have a strong focus on race, racism, and the impact of bias on access, inclusion, and belonging.

Management Roundtables – Human Resources will host a series of management roundtable continuing our work started with PwC addressing Unconscious Bias.

Employee Resource Groups – Babson sponsors ten employee resource groups four of which are diversity related and support employees in conversations about race, racism, lgbtq and racial identities, (Race Conversations, Babson Ebony Network, Latinx and LGBTQ)

Multicultural and Identity Programs – will continue to provide virtual spaces for student forums and information for additional student support.

The Johnson House – Plans to celebrate BSUs 50th anniversary launching The Johnson House are underway.

Prayer Circle – Babson’s Office of Religious and Spiritual Life will continue to provide virtual prayer circles for those seeking spiritual support and healing.

The Diversity and Inclusion Council – will host a special summer session exploring ways to increase our campus-wide effectiveness addressing diversity, equity and inclusion.

Babson Olin Wellesley – Diversity and Inclusion leaders are connecting to collaborate in support across the three campuses.

Faculty Training – Resources for inclusive teaching will be included in the next round of faculty training for virtual teaching.

The new Dean of Faculty Committee – has been launched to address faculty, diversity, inclusion and development to be chaired by Associate Professor Tina Opie.

Strategic Planning – Inclusive Excellence will serve as the framework for incorporating diversity, equity and inclusion considerations into all strategic planning initiatives.

Online Training Platforms – The Trustee Committee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has encouraged increasing accessible training resources. Babson will invest in online learning options to create real-time, options for increasing our knowledge about diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.

Campus Police – For the past eight years, Campus Police has intentionally built a relationship with our diverse student groups emphasizing their roles as community members insuring the safety and inclusion of all Babson community
members. Pizza parties and other social events hosted by Campus Police with our students continue to build on and emphasize this relationship and its distinction from policing of other kinds.

F&E CWEL Initiatives – F&E CWEL will continue its work supporting the specific needs of women students and women of color entrepreneurs.

Institute for Social Innovation – will continue to lead social justice initiatives that advance diversity of all kinds.

Glavin Office of International Education – provides ongoing Global Mindset trainings for students and staff to: explore our complex identities and how bias and stereotypes shape our assumptions and actions; and to increase our competencies to engage effectively and appropriately, across differences, in varying cultural contexts.

A Community Message from the Office of Multicultural and Identity Programs

Dear Babson Students:

The past week has been a difficult one for many of us. The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless other Black people within this country have stirred our communities to a point of unrest across the globe. The riots and protests that have resulted are a reminder to us that our work towards a more just and inclusive world is far from over.

Being part of the Babson community means having a deep and willing commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. This means understanding and addressing the real and unending struggles that historically underrepresented communities face across our world and, particularly, our very own community. The issues impacting Black people and other communities of color are important for us to better understand in order to uphold our commitment to being an actively anti-racist institution. We are committed to ensuring that every community member—students, staff, faculty, and administration—gains the awareness, skills, knowledge, and attitude in order to lead with purpose and courage towards a better future for all people.

One of the goals of Multicultural and Identity Programs is to provide all students with resources to support their learning, growth, and development around issues related to people’s identity and cultural perspectives. To this end, we have created an anti-racism educational resource guide for you to review to deepen your own awareness of recent events. This guide is meant to serve as a starting place, and we encourage you to continue your own self-education to gain a better understanding of the issues happening within our community and around the world, and how you can commit to action.

Babson is also working to create opportunities for continued engagement to offer spaces of healing, learning, reflection, and action planning to move our institution further. The College will communicate those opportunities as they become available and accessible. We also encourage you to reach out to someone for support with our community. Regardless of distance, Babson is available to you whenever you need us, wherever you are. Counseling is available for Babson students by contacting Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at 781-239-6200 or counselingservices@babson.edu.

When racism, bigotry, bias, and all forms of oppression impact any member of our community, it is imperative that we all do our part to ensure that as one Babson community, we uphold our commitment to help every student belong. To our Black students and other communities impacted by these devastating events, please know that you have support. We as one Babson community see you. We recognize you. We stand with you. Black Lives Matter.

Sincerely,

Patrick Hale
Former Director, Multicultural and Identity Programs

Michael Lara
Former Assistant Director, LGBTQ+ and Identity Programs

Please note that in our message on Monday, June 1, 2020, Ahmaud Arbery’s name was misspelled. We have updated the correct spelling of his name in the re-shared message above. We apologize for any confusion or distress caused by our error.

Dear Babson Community:

Our nation is in the midst of a historic moment, confronting our systemic and institutional racial realties. On Sunday, I joined President Spinelli and other Babson leaders in the acknowledgement and mourning of the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery and those unnamed. We extend condolences to their families, to those impacted in the Babson community, and to the world at large.

This time of anger, grief and rage is accompanied by opportunity. My hope is that we have reached a true turning point, where we can turn the tide of racism and its violent outcomes, and begin a new era of equity and inclusion.

There are many conversations underway across our campus, both as a direct result of current events and as part of our ongoing efforts to address diversity, equity and inclusion at Babson. Our students, staff, faculty and alumni have been working diligently to address these issues, and the work continues. There is much more to be done. We ask you to join us, standing together and working side-by-side as One Babson. I want to share some of the work that is underway, and the ways you can engage to support these efforts:

Diversity and Inclusion Council

Building on initiatives already underway, the Diversity and Inclusion Council will host a series of conversations for understanding and create new opportunities for the community to get involved in diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. You will receive invitations to participate in many of these meetings, discussions and events. The College’s Race Conversations Employee Resource Group will host a special virtual meeting this Friday at noon. Later this month, the Diversity and Inclusion Council will host our All Council Summer Virtual Summit, open to all faculty and staff. Read more about the work of the Diversity and Inclusion Council, and upcoming opportunities to get involved.

Office of Multicultural and Identity Programs

On Monday, Babson’s Office of Multicultural and Identity Programs published an anti-racism educational resource guide that has been developed to help the Babson community review and deepen our awareness of recent events. This guide is meant to serve as a starting place, and we encourage you to continue your own self-education to gain a better understanding of the issues happening within our community and around the world, and how you can commit to action.

This summer, Multicultural and Identity Programs is also launching three working groups – Black Students, First Generation Students, and LGBTQ Students – to map and enhance the student experience from admission through alumni engagement. Recognizing the importance of intersectionality in student’s identity these three areas of focus will be the first of many. If you are interested in engaging in this work, please email Multicultural & Identity Programs.

Student Experience Initiatives

Student Life, Babson Athletics, and other teams across campus are engaged in enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion at Babson. Here are a few examples of upcoming events and initiatives, with additional details to be shared in the days and weeks ahead:

• Student Life is currently working to identify virtual courses focused on allyship, active anti-racism, and white privilege that students can sign-up for with all costs covered by the Professional Accelerator Fund.
• Babson Athletics is planning a forum to facilitate a conversation about race among student athletes.
• Diversity and inclusion education covered in First Year Seminar is being intentionally mapped into the first year academic curriculum.
• Our Undergraduate Center for Career Development is working on programs focused on black and other underrepresented minority students and their career readiness in the current climate.
• Sydney Swain MBA’20, former president of the Babson Black MBA Club, is organizing a Babson Black Student Summit for Undergraduate students, led by their Graduate student peers.

Babson is also working to create opportunities for continued engagement to offer spaces of healing, learning, reflection, and action planning to move our institution further. The College will communicate those opportunities as they become available and accessible.

Counseling and Support Services

The horrific acts of violence and hatred toward black individuals and communities, coupled with the uncertainty and anxiety of the COVID-19 pandemic, have created uniquely challenging circumstances for many members of our community. I encourage you to reach out for support should you need it. Counseling is available for Babson students by contacting Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at 781-239-6200 or counselingservices@babson.edu. Resources for Faculty and Staff are available through Human Resources at 781-239-4128, and 24/7 counseling services are available through our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) at 800-648-9557.

Babson’s diversity and inclusion work is guided by a strategic vision that states our commitment to create “a diverse, multicultural, and inclusive community of highly talented students, faculty, and staff characterized by respect, understanding, and appreciation of the uniqueness and value of all people.” We know there is more work to be done to fully realize this vision. Through our strategic plan, we have reaffirmed our commitment to pursuing inclusive excellence at Babson, with clear priorities and metrics to hold ourselves accountable to real progress.

As President Spinelli and I have agreed, we will share more frequent updates on progress and opportunities on this important topic. In the meantime, please continue to encourage and support your classmates and colleagues who are actively engaged in expanding and enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion at Babson. Please continue to listen, learn, and act to support the black community. What hurts some of us, hurts all of us. As a community, as One Babson, we can come together to create and lead change.

Sincerely,

Sadie Burton-Goss
Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer