My typical week at Babson begins and ends with all the people at Babson — communicating and cooperating and learning and celebrating. Every day, every hour, whether it’s a meeting or an event or a 1-on-1, it’s about expanding or relying on my network to move Babson forward, work with others to make it a better place for all.
I had a busy week this week, but as a whole it shines a bright light on what makes Babson such a great place to be:
- Center for Career Development: Megan and I discussed the excitement among the students at having Google talking to students on campus and, generally, how interactions between students and CCD are way up.
- Senior-led Seminars: My assistant dean, Tracey, coordinated this program in which seniors designed and delivered classes to other Babson students this semester. The celebratory wrap-up was on Friday, with all who participated, from the senior leaders to the students, having learned a lot from the process while also having fun.
- Olin College of Engineering: I met with Dick, a faculty member here at Babson, to talk about ways in which we might build a program together with the Olin College.
- Senior Week Auction: I was the MC for an auction to raise money for senior week. Faculty, staff, and students attended and bid on items in the live & silent auctions while also buying tickets for the raffles. It was a lively and fun evening.
- Webster Center: I went to a meeting of a group of faculty, staff, and trustees to meet the lead architect during the early phases of a project to redefine our athletic building for both the varsity athletes and the rest of the campus. It’s very exciting as we’re looking to integrate athletics more directly with the rest of campus while also providing a better experience for people who go there.
- ITSD: I met with Eric & Dave from ITSD to talk about the technology needs of students and faculty during Babson’s program in San Francisco (which starts in the fall). I am coordinating the roll out of this program and, along with me, all of the faculty and students are so excited about experiencing this program. We all can’t wait.
- Parents Executive Committee: I met with around 20 parents of Babson students who have given generously to the college. At this meeting we celebrated our students, faculty, and the arts:
- Admissions: Courtney described for the group how amazing our applicant pool was this year. We had another record pool in both quality and quantity. It’s exciting to see that the world increasingly recognizes the life changing possibilities here at Babson College.
- Business Analytics: Parents heard Kate describe our new program in business analytics and the great interest our students have shown in it.
- Social Innovation: Cheryl described the Lewis Institute, Babson’s social innovation lab. She rapidly skimmed the many ways in which the Institute reaches out to students, starting with their work in FME and continuing until graduation and beyond, as they attempt to bring social relevance and meaning to their work.
- BabsonArts: The parents got a sampling of the BabsonArts program from Steve and the Sorenson Center. They heard a jazz band, saw scenes delivered both by the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company and our faculty-directed TEST company, and saw a performance of students from Babson Dance Ensemble. (We — and I do mean “we” since I am in a performance — will begin practicing for the spring BDE next week!)
- Provost transition team: This team (of faculty and senior administrators) met multiple times this week as we are working to define the process that we will use to find a new provost and run the school during the time that Babson doesn’t have a provost.
- Faculty meeting: I attended the Faculty Senate meeting on Friday when we all discussed, among other things, the process of writing an Academic Master Plan. This is a document in which a college describes what it wants to be an its priorities for the future. This document will be used for prioritizing all investment decisions related to academics for at least the next five years (i.e., through Babson’s Centennial).
- Dean of Students interviews: I was part of a team of faculty, staff, and a student who met to Skype interview several outstanding candidates for our Dean of Students position. It is a great group to work with, and it’s always fun to meet interesting, qualified, and smart people who are motivated to become a part of the team at Babson.
- A Mexican university: I gave a talk to the senior administrators and trustees of a respected Mexican university. They are a strong partner with Babson’s executive education and they wanted to learn about the great things going on in our UG School. It’s always fun when I’m able to find the time to sing the praises of this group of students, faculty, and staff. An easy job.
- UG Cabinet: I met with senior staff from around the campus who keep everyone in touch with all the great things going on with undergrads, from admissions to classes to co-curriculars to alumni. These are my partners and one of the major ways that everything gets coordinated around campus.
- CLTP coaches: Babson has an amazing program in CLTP. This week we have had almost 300 students experience this mentoring and professional development program. This morning I was privileged to welcome the coaches — alumni, MBA students, excellent senior undergrads, and other friends of Babson — and thank them for enabling the existence of the program. It is the exemplar for how people can give back to Babson.
- Babson Hockey: Since my wife is also involved with CLTP today, we won’t be able to go to the hockey game. But that doesn’t mean that I won’t be following along on Twitter. Go Babo! Roll Beav!
So, that’s my 168 at Babson. I left out things like my early morning workouts at Webster (the 6:30am boot camp is too late for me!), my breakfasts and lunches at Trim dining hall, and playing with my dog and cats. Other than that, you can see what my week is like — working with others who want to live, learn about, improve, and celebrate Babson.
It’s a good place to be.
