For Immediate Release
October 19, 1998
Contact:
Barbara Spies Blair
(781) 239-4621
[email protected]
Babson College Dedicates New Facility for Its Center for Entrepreneurship The Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship Enhances Babson's Worldwide Expertise
Note to Media: Building photos available upon request.
Please call (781) 239-4621 or 4548.
Babson website: www.babson.edu
Wellesley, Mass--Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., announces the dedication of The Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship, a new facility designed for the support and advancement of entrepreneurship, on Saturday, October 24, 1998 at 4:00 p.m.
The Center will be named in honor of Arthur M. Blank, cofounder, president, and CEO, The Home Depot, Inc.; a 1963 graduate of Babson College and a member of Babson's Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs. He received an honorary doctor of laws degree from the College in 1998. Blank's personal gift of $5 million supports the endowment for Babson's Entrepreneurial Studies program and The Home Depot Entrepreneurial Scholarship program.
Entrepreneurship-the creation of value through innovation-has been part of the College environment since its founding by entrepreneur Roger W. Babson in 1919. The College was among the first business schools in the country to recognize entrepreneurship as a separate field of study. "Entrepreneurs are driving a revolution that is transforming the way in which we work, live, and play," said William D. Bygrave, director, Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship.
"Most of our faculty have been or still are practicing entrepreneurs. Last year Babson students produced nearly 200 business plans as part of their curriculum work," said Bygrave. Major media, including the elite magazines ranking colleges and universities nationwide, consistently rank Babson College a leader in entrepreneurial management education.
Creative Spaces, Technology for the New Millenium The new Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship embodies Babson's identity as a hub of outreach, research, and teaching in the field of entrepreneurial leadership. A prominent feature of the three-story structure is the central rotunda, setting the impression of openness to creativity and new ideas. The Frederic C. Hamilton Exhibit Hall on the ground floor showcases gigantic aerial exhibits of products developed by members of Babson's Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs. A giant Famous Amos cookie, Virgin Atlantic aircraft, Calloway Golf club, a FedEx box, Frank Perdue's chicken, golden arches from McDonald's, an H&R Bloch tax form, and an L. L. Bean canoe are among the swirling props hanging aloft in the Exhibit Hall. Electronic video stations allow viewers to hear and see personal interviews with Academy entrepreneurs about the personal risks they faced when launching their new ventures. And a 12-seat movie theatre runs the orientation film, "What is Entrepreneurship?"
A 42-seat teleconference room is wired for distance learning, interviews or interactive collaboration on campus or around the world, and a space called the "Cyberforum" allows students to interact online with classmates and scholars. Archival space houses prominent academic research and significant papers of Babson's Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs. The school's student organization, the Babson Entrepreneurial Exchange, is also housed within the Center producing seminars and lectures open to the public and the Babson Entrepreneurial Review publication. Students can "plug-in" their computers anywhere within the Center, and the interior design accommodates the creative teamwork Babson encourages.
The architects of the Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship are Childs Bertman Tseckares Inc., a Boston-based firm that has earned national recognition. The exhibit designers are Chris Chadbourne and Associates of Cambridge, Mass., a nationally prominent exhibit-design firm.
Babson College, recognized internationally as a leader in entrepreneurial management education, grants BS and MBA degrees through its undergraduate and graduate programs, and offers executive development programs to experienced managers worldwide. Babson's degree programs are accredited by AACSB - The International Association for Management Education, and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
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