Boston Marathon serves up Wellesley College-Babson College rivalry we’ve been waiting for

April 22, 2025 by Bob Brown

Wellesley College students were on their Boston Marathon sign game with a mix of funny, encouraging, and not-so-friendly messages for participants.

While we’ve always found Wellesley College and Babson College to co-exist rather peacefully alongside each other in town, one Wellesley College student held aloft a sign with some fighting words on it: “If a Marathon was Easy it would be called Babson College.” (We saw racier versions of this describing certain family members…)

Did Babson students have an answer to this shot from Wellesley College further down the course?

boston marathon 2025 — The sign reads: “If a Marathon was Easy it would be called Babson College”

More signs:

boston marathon 2025 sign that reads "Who needs toenails anyway? — “Who needs toenails anyway?

Higher ed news: Wellesley College freezes hiring; Babson builds; MassBay accepts Rotary gift

April 14, 2025 by admin

The latest from Wellesley’s institutions of higher education:

Wellesley College freezes hiring

Wellesley College has announced a six-month hiring freeze for faculty and staff as it faces a “structural deficit” for its FY26 budget.

“As we shared in a recent memo, Wellesley is facing a significant and ongoing structural deficit as we head into fiscal year 2026. This means our revenues are growing at a slower rate than our expenses,” College higher-ups wrote in a memo dated April 11 and titled “Temporary Hiring Pause.”

“We are also exploring other actions to address the FY26 deficit and longer-term spending, including reviewing discretionary and non-salary spending across academic and administrative departments,” the memo stated.

Regarding its structural deficit, the College cited a handful of factors, including lack of revenue from students receiving lots of financial aid, a newish endowment tax, and the need to invest in older buildings.

Meanwhile, Wellesley College’s non-tenured faculty members have been on strike since late March.

Babson builds

Babson College has announced plans to transform the current executive center and Herring Family Entrepreneurial Leadership Village (HELV), through a major capital program.

Babson HELV and executive conference center — Babson HELV and executive center

Under the new capital plan, Phase 2 of the HELV development provides:

128 new student beds
A 275-plus seat dining venue
13 classrooms and learning spaces
Opportunity to address long-standing deferred maintenance

The plan for the 77,600-square foot Executive Lodge and Conference Center includes:

70-plus modern guest rooms
Classrooms in an executive event space for immersive learning experiences
Large banquet space for executive, corporate, and community events
Full-service restaurant and bar
Rooftop terrace
Dedicated fitness area

The Wellesley Planning Board will be holding a public hearing related to this project on May 5.

MassBay accepts Rotary Club of Wellesley gift

The Rotary Club of Wellesley has donated $36,000 to MassBay Community College to support student scholarships. Wellesley Rotary raised $26,000 for MassBay’s Student Hunger Relief Fund and $10,000 for MassBay’s Balance Scholarship Fund. Since 2020, the Rotary Club of Wellesley has contributed nearly $135,000 toward student scholarships at MassBay.

The Rotary Club of Wellesley raises funds for MassBay and other local initiatives through events, such as its Taste of Wellesley, which showcases local restaurants. This year’s Taste of Wellesley will take place on May 21 at The Wellesley Country Club.

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Babson taps Boston Globe’s Linda Henry, Blink Co-founder Karen Clark Cole as commencement speakers

March 25, 2025 by Bob Brown

Babson College has named Boston Globe Media CEO/Co-Owner Linda Henry and Blink UX Co-founder and former CEO Karen Clark Cole as its 2025 commencement speakers.

Henry, a Babson alum from 2000, will handle the speech for some 750 undergrads, while Clark Cole will do the honors for about 550 graduate students on Saturday, May 17 in Wellesley.

2025-commencement-speakers-B-1200 — Linda Henry and Karen Clark Cole (Photos courtesy of Babson College)

At Boston Globe Media, she has overseen the rebuilding of a legacy media company into a modern multimedia one. She serves as chair of the Boston Globe Foundation and is a director for other foundations.

As an active partner in Fenway Sports Group, Henry also has a front row view into strategic operations for the outfit’s holdings, including the Boston Red Sox. She’s also supports women’s sports as an investor in the WNBA, League One Volleyball, and Unrivaled. Outside of sports, she is an Emmy-award winning television producer and documentary producer.

Clark Cole is known for her leadership at Blink UX, a pioneering user experience company that over the years had had countless large clients from Apple to Starbucks. She led six strategic acquisitions before negotiating Blink’s acquisition by Mphasis Corp. in 2021.

Clark Cole is the founder and executive director of Girls Can Do and Heaven on Earth Animal Retirement Sanctuary, two non-profit organizations. Clark Cole’s book on her entrepreneurial years is set to be published in early 2026.

Banned Books Week celebrated in Wellesley

September 24, 2024 by admin

Although Wellesley may not seem to be a hot-spot of censorship, Banned Books Week is being observed here as well as the rest of the country.

Banned Books Week is an annual event that takes place this year during the week of Sept. 22-28. The event was started in 1982 as a response to the rise in book “challenges” across the US, primarily from parents concerned about books they objected to being made available to children in schools and libraries. The American Library Association (ALA) now encourages communities to “celebrate” the week by drawing attention to censorship—and hopefully getting readers to check out the books, of which there are many well-known classics.

The Wellesley Free Library, Wellesley High School and Middle School Libraries, Babson College, and the Wellesley Books store all have exhibits showcasing books from the list of over 4,240 unique titles targeted for removal from schools and libraries last year.

Wellesley Free Library Adult Display+Danny Gage — Wellesley Free Library’s Danny Gage designed the Banned Books display there

At Wellesley Free Library, the Banned Books exhibit was designed by Danny Gage, a reference librarian who joined the staff five months ago. Gage was enthusiastic about putting the display together, stating that “as a librarian, it’s all about fighting censorship. We shouldn’t bar people from seeing books and we’d want to make everything available.”

His personal favorite from the banned book list is “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”, by Stephen Chbosky, which Gage read in high school. “Although the book has dark themes, it was important to me, and I resonated with the characters.” The book has been in the Top 10 list of banned books, challenged by groups demanding its removal from libraries for depiction of sexual abuse, LGBTQIA+ content, drug use, and profanity.

Wellesley Free Library Childrens Display-2 — Wellesley Free Library children’s book display

Down the street at Wellesley Books, the display included “Ulysses”, “Catcher in the Rye”, and “Tom Sawyer”. The exhibit was assembled by Lorna Ruby, a long-time staff member who included captions explaining why specific books were challenged, providing a historical context stretching back from 1933 to the present.

“It’s so important for people to understand why the books are being challenged, and giving examples really sharpens why there continues to be a
threat today,” Ruby said. “As a big fan of Margaret Atwood, the fact that the ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is on the list speaks to a dystopian vision of the future that we should be aware of.”

Ruby added “Usually the display space is where we put the local school summer reading list, and once that’s over it’s easy to switch – there are a lot of shared titles – and many of these books are being read in schools.”

Wellesley Books Display-1 — Wellesley Books display

The Babson Horn Library’s display highlights books in the collection that have been banned at libraries across the country. Emily Miles, library director at Babson College, has also included a survey question asking if users have read a banned book. There is also a jigsaw puzzle of banned books that patrons can participate in putting together.

Babson Banned Books-Puzzle — Babson Banned Books puzzle

Banned Books Week celebrated in #Wellesley https://t.co/jZ5mbZgKGM @babson @WellesleyBooks @WellesleyPS pic.twitter.com/U53w3iq3Pa
— swellesley (@swellesley) September 24, 2024

Babson Horn Library display is hot

Other locations where Banned Books Week is being observed include Wellesley High School and Middle School. The displays will be available this week to showcase these books—with the added benefit of encouraging students to check them out and read them.

Last year, Wellesley Free Library held an event about efforts to make the banning of books in public libraries and schools more difficult, particularly for organized groups seeking to challenge dozens of books at a time for questionable reasons. Author Malinda Lo last year spoke to Wellesley High students about her novels and writing career, noting that LGBTQ young adult novels are being banned in some states.

It may seem odd to “celebrate” banned books, but the idea is to bring together librarians, educators, authors, publishers, booksellers, and readers of all types to show support for freedom of expression. Wellesley’s community is certainly playing its part to do so.

This report is special to The Swellesley Report from Cimarron Buser.

Please send tips, photos, ideas to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

The Swellesley Report fits right in at Babson College student resource fair

September 10, 2024 by Bob Brown

We knew the competition for attention would be stiff at the Babson College Undergraduate Club/Organization Resource Fair. Sororities and fraternities promised fun, fun, fun & service. Sports clubs wooed the athletic and non-athletic alike to jump as high as they could or do a bit of lifting. Business clubs had analytics, AI, and other powerful forces working for them. Local businesses offered tantalizing discounts to those who venture off campus into town.

Babson College Club Fair, Wellesley — Babson College Club Fair was attended by over 1,000 students looking to match their interests and enthusiasm with one (or more) of over 100 campus groups.

We came armed with Swellesley stickers, bottle openers, and gummies (not that kind of gummy). We rolled out a shiny new banner, served up our latest Babson stories on our laptop, and signed up dozens of students for our free weekday email newsletter. (We’re always happy to hear from Babson students about your projects & ideas for improving Swellesley.)

Mrs. Swellesley, practically shouting to be heard over thumping background music, greeted students who dared to make eye contact with: “Hi, do you know what’s going on in Wellesley?”

Some wondered what the heck Swellesley was, while others knew us, much to our delight.

“Do you ever write about Fells Market?” one student asked. Luckily, we were able to say we have… his dad used to be one of the owners.

Student Bobby Grogan stopped by and knew exactly who we were: We’d written a piece over the summer about an Olympic-focused website he and a friend had built. Good to put a face with the name!

Another student declined our offer to join the email list, but he had a good excuse: “My mom subscribes, she forwards me to important stuff.” Fair enough.

A grad student shared with us that he grew up in a family where his dad always had the newspaper spread out, and installed an interest in news in him. His companion added that the first thing he does in the morning is check his newsletters.

We had a sweet spot along the outside row of tables at the Len Green Recreation and Athletic Complex alongside local businesses such as Linden Square’s YogaSix and Roche Bros., and Wellesley Square’s London Harness and new restaurant black & blue (we encouraged students to book reservations for Family and Friends weekend). Deeper into the gym were tables packed with student clubs and organizations, and we made the rounds to many of the 100-plus tables that attracted more than 1,000 students to the venue.

I asked an AI Club member if they’ve been overrun with interest giving the rapid ascension of artificial intelligence. At first she said “not really,” but then I think she snuck a peek at ChatGPT on her phone and said, “Actually yes, we have had a lot of interest and a lot of events planned.”

Carmelo Carbone, founder and president of the Babson Pickleball Club (graduating from intramural to club status in the spring), was pumped to talk about the popular paddle sport (see also: “Pickleball’s popularity in Wellesley growing at Babson College, too”). Watching club members play, we discovered the secret to making the notorious pickleball ping-pinging sound practically inaudible. Just put 1,000 students in close proximity, and you’ll come away thinking pickleball is the quietest sport ever.

Babson resource fair — Carmelo Carbone of the Babson Pickleball Club: 125 student members and growing

Creativity was on display as well among an aproned trio representing Babson CREATE, which supports theStudio living community on campus. I asked what kind of arts they specialized in, and in unison the students replied “All the arts.”

The Babson Pride team had the right idea at its table for engaging with attendees: a cotton candy machine. Lots of activities are planned for the upcoming school year, including weekly dinners, they said (whether cotton candy will be served, we’re not sure).

One freshman stopped by our table and asked if we knew if Babson had a newspaper club. We didn’t, but we did come across the table for The Viridian, a literary magazine that covers some topical issues like NIL (name, image, and likeness) rights in college sports. Publisher Ethan Bryan said they’re working on establishing more of an online presence. Always great to meet a fellow publisher.

Thanks for having The Swellesley Report at the Babson College Undergraduate Club/Organization Resource Fair.

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Pickleball’s popularity in Wellesley growing at Babson College, too

September 10, 2024 by Bob Brown

The rise of pickleball’s popularity in Wellesley has been well documented, with players seeking more places to play outdoors and indoors, sometimes to the chagrin of neighbors and other court users. The town has been revising court schedules over the past year and researching possible new venues designed to appease neighbors and spare the environment (even as new private indoor venues like Longfellow Club come online in Wellesley).

Not surprisingly, the sport is also gaining converts at the college level. Pickleball enthusiasts are quick to point out that the sport is not only popular among older people, but increasingly, young people.

Carmelo Carbone, founder and president of the Babson Pickleball Club, says the organization is on its way to graduating from an intramural sport to an official club-level one at Babson College (hopefully by spring). We met Carbone at last week’s Undergraduate Club/Organization Resource Fair, where students were playing pickleball amidst the organized chaos of the event (see also: “The Swellesley Report fits right in at Babson College student resource fair”).

“I would describe the pickleball scene here as rapidly growing,” said Carbone, a senior. “Last year we would get a consistent 10-15 people to come and now we have 125 members signed up.” On Monday, the club had its first open play event of the school year and 40 students showed up.

The club started last fall and then Carbone went abroad in the spring. “So this is my first full year to grow it,” he said.

“More people are organically finding out about the sport and they want a place to play at Babson. My goal is to try and provide that for them,” said Carbone, a certified trainer with lots of experience in the sport. “I give out my phone number to people that want to get involved and have questions about the game so they have a resource to help them with rules, strategy, paddle recommendations, basic motions, etc.”

Beyond students at Babson, faculty enjoys pickleball on campus, too. They have access to several courts inside in the early morning.

One of Carbone’s challenges, not an unfamiliar one to pickleball players and organizers in Wellesley and other communities, is finding court time. He’s had no luck getting permission to put tape down on varsity tennis courts (the Town of Wellesley ran into some issues itself with tape mucking up outdoor courts), but he’s trying to get the go-ahead for doing some on some indoor basketball courts. He’s also trying to use outdoor facilities, including in Natick and the new Boston Pickle Club in Hyde Park.

“It’s tough to find time not because of faculty but other club sports using the space, events going on and generally people just using the courts for basketball and other sports,” Carbone said.

He’s familiar with the issue that communities like Wellesley are dealing with regarding courts.

“Every town has the same issue right now. The sport is growing so rapidly and every town is trying to find a way to meet demand,” Carbone said. “I started a pickleball program for a facility in my hometown of Huntington, Long Island and my Facebook post blew up because there was a demand for it and courts just got built in the area. People just didn’t know they were there and I feel like that’s is the main problem. Either there are not enough courts in the area, the town doesn’t know where to put them or they exist but people don’t know about them…”

As a senior this year, Carbone looks to put pickleball on a successful path before he leaves Babson. “This is my last year to make an impact and set the program on the right path. Once it becomes official, we can get funding, get more equipment, expand the sport and keep it growing until it becomes a varsity sport at the collegiate level,” he wrote, with a wink.

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Babson College rolls out fall arts schedule—most events open to public

August 27, 2024 by Bob Brown

Babson College has revealed its fall arts schedule, which features films, exhibits, music, readings, and more. Most events are free and open to the general public

Things kick off for BabsonARTS with an artist talk and reception on Sept. 10 with Davit Khachatryan revolving around his Heart to Heart (A Curious Human-Machine Dialogue).

Other highlights include:

A media performance and installation by MASARY Studios at Glavin Chapel in late September
Showing of Wim Wenders’ film, Perfect Days, on Oct. 22
Artist Nayda A. Cuevas talk and reception on Nov. 7

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Babson students want you to get to know U.S. Olympians

July 24, 2024 by Bob Brown

With the Olympics starting in Paris on July 26, you might be getting around to familiarizing yourself with members of the United States team. There’s lots of information on the official and dizzying Olympics website, but if there’s a list of team rosters, it’s not easy to find.

Babson College juniors Daniel Liao and Bobby Grogan have built a website that makes it simple to learn about the U.S. team rosters and the individuals on them. The goal, Liao says: “Make it easier for people to get engaged with the Olympics.” The information is sourced from the Olympics organization and Team USA.

They’ve organized sports into categories like “combat” and “ball,” and allow searching by sport and event.

olympic website built by Babson students — Sample view of Paris 2024 Team USA Roster website

Liao and Grogan live in a housing community on campus called CODE that’s focused on tech-related entrepreneurship. They built the site using HTML, JS, and CSS, with help from a framework called Svelte. They’re renting servers from the Google Cloud Platform to host the website, which works on desktops/laptops/mobile devices.

It took about two weeks to build the site, which is an ongoing project.

“Our biggest challenge is getting the data, which involves manually looking at qualifier results and searching up individual athletes. As you can imagine, this is pretty time consuming,” says Liao, who adds that they are looking to add more info, such as event schedules. They’d like to expand the site to include teams from other countries, but it’s a matter of finding a way to do it more efficiently. After all, the games are beginning…

Liao says he’s especially interested in the sports of climbing and golf (“I’ve been playing golf since I was young and recently picked up bouldering.”) Grogan is following sailing, a sport he’s been involved in since he was young.

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