The story
20th century
In the fall of 1908, Roger W. Babson met Sidney Linnekin, a young carpenter from Gloucester, Massachusetts, who impressed him with his diligence while working on Babson's garage in Wellesley Hills. Their acquaintance led to a collaboration when Linnekin expressed interest in studying economics and bond salesmanship. Babson created a correspondence course in bond-selling, the first of its kind in the United States, which Linnekin later helped market and expand into a broader program in business education.
This initiative grew into a significant educational enterprise offering courses in economics, finance, and distribution, with Linnekin eventually serving as sales manager. The combination of Babson's collaboration with Linnekin and his experience at the LSE inspired the eventual founding of the Babson Institute.
On September 3, 1919, with an enrollment of twenty-seven students, the Babson Institute held its first classes in the former home of Roger and Grace Babson on Abbott Road in Wellesley Hills. The institute's curriculum focused on practical experience. Students observed manufacturing processes during field trips to area factories and businesses, and viewed industrial films on Saturday mornings.
The institute also maintained a business environment as part of the students' everyday life. Students kept regular business hours and were monitored by punching in and out on a time clock. They were assigned an office desk equipped with standard machines. Personal secretaries typed the students' assignments and correspondence in an effort to accurately reflect the business world. Roger Babson aimed to "prepare his students to enter their chosen careers as executives, not anonymous members of the work force."
In 1969, Babson converted its three-year Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree into a four-year Bachelor of Science degree. That same year, the institute became a college, and women were admitted for the first time.
21st century
Babson is involved in a three-college collaboration with Olin College and Wellesley College, often called BOW.
From Wikipedia’s article on Babson College, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5