Centers & Institutes

Dedicated in 1998, The Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship is the nerve center for entrepreneurial activity at Babson. The center was named in honor of Arthur M. Blank ’63, H’98 (co-founder of The Home Depot) and provides a home for:

• Signature Programs: Rocket Pitch, B.E.T.A. Challenge, and Summer Venture Program
• The John E. and Alice L. Butler Launch Pad
• The Butler Institute for Free Enterprise Through Entrepreneurship (BIFETE)
• Members of the Entrepreneurship Division faculty
• Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference (BCERC)
• The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM)

The Frank & Eileen™ Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (F&E CWEL) is one of the most important and visible ways that Babson empowers women leaders. Launched in 2000, F&E CWEL is the first center ever focused on women entrepreneurial leaders at a business school. Through a number of award-winning programs, the Center educates and empowers entrepreneurial leaders to create social and economic impact as they reach their full potential.

The Center’s award-winning programs include:

• The F&E CWEL Mentor Network for graduate and undergraduate students
• The Women Innovating Now (WIN) Lab® venture accelerator program for women entrepreneurs
• The Babson Association of Women MBAs (BAWMBA)
• The Diana International Research Institute (DIRI), the premier global research institute dedicated to women’s entrepreneurship
• Executive Education: Leadership Program for Women & Allies

The Kerry Murphy Healey Center for Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship is where innovation meets entrepreneurship to bring health, economic, and social value for all, with a focus on health equity and justice. The KMH Center for Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship aims impact entrepreneurial leaders in the health sector globally and the Babson community, including more than 1400 Babson alumni in the health sector via a series of initiatives including:

• Entrepreneurial Learning: The UGHE/Babson Global Health Innovation Lab in partnership with the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda
• Research: Ongoing studies at the intersection of health innovation, entrepreneurship and health equity, health analytics, and health and well-being: Project ROI: Driving Corporate Involvement (pdf)
• Advanced Education and Mentoring: Developing customized programs in Entrepreneurial Leadership in the Health Sector, Innovation and Commercialization, and Employee and Leader Well-Being

The Bertarelli Institute for Family Entrepreneurship (BIFE) is a hub for research, resources, and innovative programming dedicated to entrepreneurial students and their families. Consistent with Babson’s leadership in entrepreneurship education, and unlike any other school, Babson’s commitment to family entrepreneurs recognizes that families, not just family businesses, drive entrepreneurial behavior. This includes the support of multigenerational family businesses, family foundations, startups and acquisitions supported by families, spousal startups, entrepreneurial family members embarking on separate ventures, and many other value-creating family activities.

Our programs include:

• Family Entrepreneurial Leadership Program
• Family Entrepreneurship Amplifier Program
• Networking by Industry
• Family Entrepreneurship Mentorship Program
• Live Case Study Series

The Institute for Social Innovation inspires action around the biggest challenges of our time: the UN Global Goals. We help the Babson community and cross-sector stakeholders tap into important networks, frameworks, resources, and conversations that promote taking productive action in creating economic and social value simultaneously, including:

• The Uncommon Table—open conversations, often featuring external experts
• Action Tanks—deep dives into topics like food, mobility, and youth
• Experiential Learning—courses, real-world learning opportunities, and an intensity track
• Changemaker Mentoring—real-time ideas, feedback, and connections

The new Tariq Farid Franchise Institute will create cross-disciplinary programming that draws on Babson’s business and entrepreneurial expertise, combined with the experience and knowledge of franchising experts, to provide cocurricular education and expertise to rising entrepreneurs to accelerate their success in the world of franchising.