Babson Joins Global Business School Network's Executive Board Member Schools

WELLESLEY, Mass., April 10, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Babson College has been named an Executive Board Member School of the Global Business School Network, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works to improve management education for the developing world.

Babson, which has been a member of GBSN since 2008, joins the Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Lagos Business School; Mediterranean School of Business; MIT Sloan School of Management; Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan; University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business; and the University of St. Gallen for Management, Economics, Law, Social Sciences and International Affairs on the Executive Board. The Executive Board is the premier level of membership in GBSN. Member schools on the Executive Board are actively engaged in shaping the network and play an important role in achieving GBSN's mission.

Babson College is also the co-host for GBSN's Annual Conference and 10th Anniversary Celebration being held with co-host Mediterranean School of Business in Tunisia June 10 - 12, 2013. The theme of the conference is "Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship."

"Babson has been an important partner over the past few years, and now co-host of our next annual conference, and I am thrilled that they will be helping to shape GBSN's next decade as Executive Board members," said Guy Pfeffermann, CEO of GBSN.

As a GBSN Executive Board Member School, Babson will play an important role in sharing knowledge, building educational capacity and implementing programs to advance management education across borders. These efforts strengthen the pool of talent available to lead local, regional and multinational organizations working in emerging markets. GBSN works to ensure that budding entrepreneurs and leaders receive high quality training that combines international best practice with local relevance.

"Babson is committed to using the power of entrepreneurship to impact communities all around the world, and joining GBSN's Executive Board will help us to achieve that goal. The board is comprised of some of the world's top business schools. As the recognized global leader in entrepreneurship education, we are excited to work with these elite schools to define a new model of management education for the developing world," said Dennis Hanno, Babson Vice Provost and Murata Dean of the Graduate School.

Through its hands-on integrated curriculum that balances business and liberal arts, Babson students are immersed in an educational setting that cultivates entrepreneurial thinking, leadership, teamwork, creativity, communication and diversity. In their first year at Babson, students go through a yearlong course, Foundations in Management and Entrepreneurship, where they have to start and operate their own businesses. Babson excels in developing action-learning programs that link classroom learning with real life experiences.

As an organization, GBSN aims to address one of the most pressing concerns for businesses and NGOs alike in the developing world: the lack of an educated workforce with the skills and knowledge to build businesses and lead teams to success. Instead of encouraging talented students to leave their communities for education, which often leads to a "brain drain," GBSN is promoting quality business education at home. By building the capacity of local faculty, modernizing educational methods and developing programs that meet local needs, GBSN provides a sustainable solution to meet the management needs in the developing world.

In addition to supporting educational programs, GBSN also aims to strengthen business schools' role as knowledge generators and disseminators of innovation. In this way they are able to contribute to the development of businesses and social programs beyond the walls of the classroom.

About GBSN

Established in 2003 on the premise that good management is critical to economic and social development, GBSN works to build the capacity of institutions and educators providing management education for the developing world. By harnessing the power of a worldwide network of leading business schools GBSN advances management education, strengthening and empowering the developing world's entrepreneurs and managers. For more information on the Global Business School Network, visit www.gbsnonline.org.

About Babson College

Babson College is the educator, convener, and thought leader for Entrepreneurship of All Kinds(tm). The College is a dynamic living and learning laboratory, where students, faculty, and staff work together to address the real-world problems of business and society -- while at the same time evolving our methods and advancing our programs. We shape the leaders our world needs most: those with strong functional knowledge and the skills and vision to navigate change, accommodate ambiguity, surmount complexity, and motivate teams in a common purpose to create economic and social value. As we have for nearly a half-century, Babson continues to advance Entrepreneurial Thought and Action(r) as the most positive force on the planet for generating sustainable economic and social value. Visit www.babson.edu.

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SOURCE Babson College