Babson College president Len Schlesinger steps down today, July 1, to return to a teaching post at Harvard Business School. Although Schlesinger’s tenure at Babson lasted just five years, he had a momentous impact on both the college’s undergraduate program and the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business. Schlesinger bequeaths to his successor, former Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Dr. Kerry Healey, perhaps the single strongest entrepreneurship MBA program in the country (amazingly, this year marked its twentieth first-place ranking in U.S. News and World Report). In fact, entrepreneurship is less a well-defined program at Babson than a set of ideals that pervade all aspects of the MBA curriculum and define the mission of the school.
Entrepreneurship has a long history at Babson. Its business program counts the founders of Home Depot, Gerber, and Zumba Fitness among its alumni. Upon arriving at the school, Schlesinger recognized the potential of the umbrella term “entrepreneurship,” and trademarked the mottos “Entrepreneurial Thought and Action” and “Entrepreneurship of All Kinds,” developing a focused brand for the college.
Between 2007 and 2011, Babson Rising, the fundraising effort behind the entrepreneurship branding campaign, raised $216 million. In addition to this substantial sum, Babson received a $10.8 million gift for The Lewis Institute, a research promoting social innovation. The social programs conceived at The Lewis Institute come to fruition at Babson Social Innovation Lab. Babson faculty and students have already expanded the program to specialized niches like Food Solutions, Affordable Design and Entrepreneurship, and Micro Supply Chain.
Entrepreneurship at Babson didn’t begin nor will it end with Schlesinger. In addition to the school’s successful branding and capital campaigns, Babson maintains strong local partnerships with entrepreneurial firms, educational institutions and nonprofits, which will help it thrive well into the future. Foremost among these contacts is the Boston-based startup accelerator MassChallenge, the largest accelerator of its kind in the world. Babson students frequently participate in–and win–MassChallenge business plan competitions and pitch contests. They also take advantage of educational opportunities like mentoring workshops and lectures that are sponsored by MassChallenge.
Rather than treating entrepreneurship as a distinct discipline, entrepreneurial values are embedded in every subject area of the Babson MBA curriculum. A slate of core courses, including courses in leadership, financial reporting, managing talent, law, economics, technology and business strategy, among others, are taught in each of the Olin School’s one-year, two-year, evening, and fast track MBA programs. Olin emphasizes the integrated nature of these core disciplines, which the school believes reflects the integrated nature of the business world. The core curriculum is supplemented by numerous elective course offerings and Signature Learning Experiences, or SLEs, which allow students to practice their entrepreneurial values and business knowledge in real-world situations.
Under Schlesinger, Babson literally re-defined entrepreneurship. By harnessing the same entrepreneurial values it teaches, the school can continue to be a leader in this field long after he departs.
