Leadership

“AI is the single most important technological, societal, ethical, and business innovation issue of our time. Leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators of all kinds must understand both the opportunities and risks presented by the emerging AI-age.”

AI research interests

• AI for business innovation
• AI for the rapid prototyping of entrepreneurial ideas
• AI & experiential entrepreneurship education
• AI and the future of innovation management

Erik Noyes is an Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at Babson College. An expert in innovation, growth strategy, and AI, Noyes teaches courses in entrepreneurial thinking, new venture creation, and business innovation. His research examines entrepreneurship, disruptive innovation, and AI in entrepreneurship and innovation. He teaches Entrepreneurial Opportunities in AI at Babson, among other graduate and undergraduate entrepreneurship courses. Prior to joining Babson, Noyes consulted with companies like Nokia, Motorola, BMW, and Hewlett-Packard Healthcare to explore new growth businesses.

Recent publications

“Entrepreneurship Education at the Dawn of Generative Artificial Intelligence.” Entrepreneurship Education & Pedagogy (EE&P).

“AI is poised to transform education; it is reshaping how students learn, educators teach, and empowers both to think critically and creatively.”

Cathleen currently holds the position of Associate Director for The Generator Interdisciplinary AI Lab where she provides essential organizational and administrative strategy, business analysis, and leadership skills to bring into focus and build out the academic vision and operational goals of The Generator AI Lab.

In addition to her role with The Generator, Cathleen is also Associate Director for the Center for Engaged Learning & Teaching at Babson College. In this role, she is responsible for implementing the College’s strategic initiatives and making resources available that support faculty development, as well as expanding the external visibility and teaching reputation of the College through the development, publication and distribution of innovative teaching materials and methods.

“AI is the single most important technological, societal, ethical, and business innovation issue of our time. Leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators of all kinds must understand both the opportunities and risks presented by the emerging AI-age.”

AI research interests

• AI for business innovation
• AI for the rapid prototyping of entrepreneurial ideas
• AI & experiential entrepreneurship education
• AI and the future of innovation management

Erik Noyes is an Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at Babson College. An expert in innovation, growth strategy, and AI, Noyes teaches courses in entrepreneurial thinking, new venture creation, and business innovation. His research examines entrepreneurship, disruptive innovation, and AI in entrepreneurship and innovation. He teaches Entrepreneurial Opportunities in AI at Babson, among other graduate and undergraduate entrepreneurship courses. Prior to joining Babson, Noyes consulted with companies like Nokia, Motorola, BMW, and Hewlett-Packard Healthcare to explore new growth businesses.

Recent publications

“Entrepreneurship Education at the Dawn of Generative Artificial Intelligence.” Entrepreneurship Education & Pedagogy (EE&P).

“AI has unleashed a digital workforce that can assist entrepreneurs at every stage of their entrepreneurial journey, from ideation to venture growth.”

AI research interests

• Gaining efficiencies using AI
• Managing change amidst the AI digital workforce
• Creating closed AI large language models
• Training AI systems

Ruth Gilleran is a Professor of Practice in the Operations and Information Management division. She teaches courses in digital technologies as well as entrepreneurship and her research interests lie at the intersection of the two, namely tech entrepreneurship. For the past several years, Gilleran served as the co-coordinator of Babson’s core undergraduate technology course, and she now co-leads its year-long flagship entrepreneurship program. Prior to joining Babson, Gilleran served as Assistant Vice President of Computer Associates’ enterprise business and data analytics applications.

Recent publications

“Supervised Machine Learning: An Experiential and Reflective Session.”

“AI is transforming how we learn, create, and innovate. My goal is to help students build the literacy, intuition, and confidence to become thoughtful creators, critical thinkers, and responsible innovators in an AI-driven world.”

AI research interests

• Foundational AI concepts and literacy
• Deep learning and AI applications in business
• Human–AI coding collaboration
• AI for teaching and classroom innovation

“I am interested in courageous collaborations between artists/practitioners and AI. I am also interested in how AI can inspire bold classroom activities, assignments, and assessments. I’ve observed how such pedagogical innovations can cultivate creativity and critical thinking, while preparing students to thrive in a world outside the university.”

AI research interests

• AI for performance and improvisation
• AI and pedagogy
• AI and public discourse

Beth Wynstra is Associate Professor of English and Faculty Director of the Center for Engaged Learning and Teaching at Babson College. Beth teaches courses in Dramatic Literature, Theater History, Acting, and Public Speaking, and she regularly directs plays and musicals. Beth’s research interests include American drama, political theater, and gender studies, and her book Vows, Veils, and Masks: The Performance of Marriage in the Plays of Eugene O’Neill (University of Iowa Press, Theater History and Culture Series) was published in 2023. She regularly lectures and serves as a dramaturg or researcher at prominent regional and professional theaters across the U.S.

Recent publications

“The Heart/Roots Project and a Pandemic Pivot.” Journal of American Drama and Theater 35.2 (2023).

Vows, Veils, and Masks: The Performance of Marriage in the Plays of Eugene O’Neill. University of Iowa Press, Theater History and Culture Series (2023).

“From Page to Stage: Dramaturging the Female Voices of the Provincetown Players” in Teaching Modernist Women Writers in English. Modern Language Association of America (2021).

“AI is the embodiment of the problem-solving mindset that has been dominating modern science, engineering, and industrial capitalism. This mindset had long prioritized productivity, efficiency, and surveillance over smallness, slowness, and introspection … Maybe instead of problem-solving, we should teach students to define problems, configure problems, and create problems. Be a problem creator, rather than a problem solver.”

AI research interests

• How NOT to use AI
• AI and the environment
• Global Comparative AI Cultures

Xinghua Li is Associate Professor of Media Studies at Babson College. She teaches courses on critical media theory, consumer culture, and environmental sustainability. Her research investigates the intersections of media, consumerism, and the environment under global capitalism, with an emphasis on cross-cultural, comparative, and historical analysis.

Recent publications

Li, X. (2026). “Moving Heavan and Earth: Visualizing Socialist Construction Campaigns in Mao-Era Propaganda Posters (1949-1978).” Advertising & Society Quarterly. Vol: 26, Issue: 4. Duke University.

Li, X., Thomas, K.D., Knight, C.N. (2026). “Global and International Introduction: What Can Maoist Propaganda Posters Teach Us About Sustainability Today?”. Vol: 26, Issue: 4. Advertising & Society Quarterly, Winter 2025.

Li, X. (2023). “The ‘Useless’ Sustainability: Chinese and American Discourses of Eco-Fashion and the Utilitarian Fantasy.” Recherches en Communication. Vol: 55, Page: 121-156. The Université catholique de Louvain.

Li, X. (2020). “Selling the ‘Wild’ in China: Ancient Values, Wilderness Histories, and the Quyeba Advertising Campaign: Green Communication and China: On Crisis, Care, and Global Futures.” Michigan State University Press.

“AI isn’t just changing technology—it’s changing culture. At Babson, I see AI as the spark that pushes students to think bigger, experiment bolder, and collaborate across disciplines in ways we’ve never seen before. My focus is on turning curiosity into capability—helping the next generation of entrepreneurs not only adopt AI but lead with it. The question isn’t whether AI will shape our future, but who will have the vision to direct it.”

“AI gives us the ability to unlock learning and creation in ways that were once out of reach. It can expand access to education and help close the wealth gap by making advanced tools available to everyone—not just a few. My goal is to ensure access to these tools for all, while also critiquing the way we use AI so that we continue to cultivate critical thinking. I believe everyone is built to pursue their passions, and that AI should guide our thinking rather than replace it—serving as a skeleton key that unlocks those passions in ways we never thought possible.”

“AI lets people build and learn fast at a pace like never before. This speed should open doors to everyone professionally and academically so that communities left behind can thrive in this age of technology.”

“People are scared about AI suppressing creativity, I think the exact opposite is happening. AI is enabling people of all ages to create things they were never able to create before. I’ve seen children 3D model high fidelity prototypes and executives create designs that were outside of their wildest dreams. The barriers of entry to any creative discipline are disintegrating, and I think that’s amazing.”

“AI is transforming ideation. We can sprint through a full creative cycle in hours instead of weeks: sketching, testing, and prototyping with higher standards than ever. The result: sharper, more meaningful ideas. The key is letting ourselves be challenged by the hard questions AI throws at us.”

“Artificial intelligence has become a game of input data and context. The more unique, vast, and human your input, the more creative the system can be. It’s no longer a matter of how to do things, but a matter of what we want to do and why. And I’m excited to build that next wave of what’s.”

“I believe AI provides us with the opportunity to break barriers once deemed impossible. Allowing everyone to become creative by providing the tools of tomorrow today.”

“AI will replace tasks, not people. Just like the industrial revolution and the invention of electricity and the digital computer, AI is already creating short-term disruption as certain jobs and roles are reshaped or displaced. But history shows that in the long run, technology creates more opportunity than it destroys. Companies that react by cutting their employees will lose in the long term. Those that train their employees to master AI and redesign roles will win by multiplying the productivity of every employee.”

“AI lets people build and learn fast at a pace like never before. This speed should open doors to everyone professionally and academically so that communities left behind can thrive in this age of technology.”

“AI has the potential to transform higher education. Institutions that build holistic AI strategies to educate their students will foster innovation and prepare students to be competitive in a rapidly evolving digital world.”

AI research interests

• AI impacts on higher education
• AI impacts on Ethics and Security
• AI impacts on business

Patty Patria is the Chief Information Officer at Babson College. She is an innovative, strategic thinker with 20+ years of experience in higher education, collaborating with faculty, staff and students to envision and implement transformative solutions. She has passion for leveraging AI in higher education to improve outcomes and operations, and works collaboratively with faculty, staff and students on academic, student and administrative AI endeavors. Patty also has a strong risk and security background, and is helping Babson understand and manage that risks associated with AI through policy, process and technology.

“AI touches all disciplines, all courses, and everyone in Higher Education. It is critical that we know how to use it and what opportunities it can afford us so our students are ready as they enter the workforce.”

AI research interests

• How AI impacts business
• How AI will shape academic technologies
• AI and assessment in education
• The intersection of AI and content/curriculum development
• The intersection of AI and Multimedia production

Eric currently holds the position as the Senior Director of Academic Technologies at Babson College where he leads a team of instructional designers, instructional technologists, and graphic designers. His responsibilities for the group include strategic thinking and planning around curriculum and faculty research, creating content for blended and online learning, training faculty, coaching, and implementing innovative academic technologies. In addition to his role in academic technology, Eric also teaches in the fields of UI/UX, graphic design, communications and collaboration in virtual environments.

“We are at the cusp of AI transformation and cross-disciplinary collaboration is critical to drive an AI-enabled future that is both safe and sustainable”

AI research interests

• AI for everyone
• AI impact for business
• AI and sustainability
• The future of AI

Phil Ahn is a Senior Director, Data Analytics & AI at Babson College, and an expert translator between business and technical. He has led digital and AI transformation across diverse industries including insurance, healthcare, and manufacturing. Phil is helping drive AI experimentation and scaling within the Babson community.

“Generative AI tools represent a new way in which we can interact with information and require us to use our existing information literacy skills in novel contexts.”

AI research interests

• AI and Information/Digital Literacy
• AI and Human Information Behavior

Saskia Kusnecov is a Research and Instruction Librarian for Horn Library, and an Adjunct Lecturer in the Arts and Humanities division. She holds a Master's in Library and Information Science from Rutgers University.

“We are just beginning the journey with AI—like any other educational tool before AI, understanding and experimentation are vital for improvement.”

AI research interests

• Closed vs open systems in higher education for data privacy
• Addressing concerns over AI use in education
• Prompt engineering