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As I reflect on my first year as president of Babson College, I am awed by the enormity and complexity of the converging forces that have shaped the last 365 days.
When I took the helm, I was intensely focused on navigating Babson through the disruption facing higher education. My first action, the launch of a strategic planning process, was designed to prepare us to thrive in a changing environment.
A year later, the change and disruption we face—not only in the higher education industry but as a community, nation, and world—is profound, unplanned, and ongoing. It has called for us to consider what it means to truly thrive in ways we have rarely seen.
Coronavirus forced us to rapidly shift the way we teach, learn, and work. The way we live. For many institutions, the transition was insurmountable. For Babson, it was an opportunity for us to do what we do best—solve problems, create value in experiences, and lead with action.
We were fortunate to meet this moment of crisis from a position of strength, having set in motion a series of strategic initiatives that fortuitously aligned with the steps necessary to survive and re-emerge from the coronavirus pandemic. The COVID-19 experience validated and accelerated what our strategic planning process had already identified as areas of strength on which to build.
Now, with our strategic plan moving toward implementation, and the release of Babson Together, our road map for a return to campus operations, we have created a dual pathway to a future state that will look and feel different, but will ultimately enhance the Babson experience and enable us to thrive.
As I enter my second year as president, and as we navigate the next normal together, I am motivated, energized, and confident in our ability—as One Babson—to create lasting economic and social value and have a positive impact on businesses, communities, society, and the world.
Stephen Spinelli Jr. MBA’92, PhD
President Stephen Spinelli Jr. MBA’92, PhD, joined by several members of College leadership, shared updates on the fall semester’s return to campus and the strategic plan Wednesday at a community forum for faculty and staff.
At a virtual community forum for undergraduate students and families, Babson College leadership previewed plans for the community’s return to campus this fall.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, during his recent video conference testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, described a “Shark Tank”-like process in which the National Institutes of Health (NIH) urged scientists and innovators to compete in a $500 million race to create new COVID-19 tests.
Last week, the world witnessed an appalling act of violence in Minneapolis. The death of George Floyd represents the latest in a long, horrific, unacceptable pattern of unequal treatment and violence against the black community.
Since I last communicated on the pages of this magazine, Babson College, the world, and all of our lives have changed dramatically
Arthur M. Blank ’63, H’98 is a founder, a doer, a leader, and a philanthropist. Best known as the co-founder of The Home Depot and the owner of the Atlanta Falcons, he has a broad family of businesses as well as a family foundation.
