Babson College Forms For-Profit Venture; New Enterprise Will Offer Internet-Based Distance Learning to Executives and MBA Students; Thomas E. Moore appointed CEO.

Business Editors

WELLESLEY, Mass--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 16, 2000

Babson College in Wellesley, Mass. is forming a separate for-profit company to provide online-learning programs to Babson's worldwide corporate clients in its School of Executive Education and its MBA and MSM graduate programs. Babson is a top-ranked independent business school recognized for its expertise in innovative, integrative entrepreneurial management education.

Thomas E. Moore has been named CEO of the new venture and will continue as Dean, Babson School of Executive Education. Formerly The Murata Dean, School of Management, Moore led Babson's graduate and executive education schools. He has extensive experience in higher education and international consulting. In the early 1990s Moore was instrumental in driving groundbreaking curricular revision which helped put Babson "on the map" among an elite group of MBA programs. Prior to Babson, he served as vice president, Arthur D. Little International, Inc. (ADL) and dean of its school of management, which he led from conception to accreditation; and was associate and acting dean at the College of Business, Northeastern University, where he led the graduate and undergraduate schools, the Professional School of Accounting, and the Center for Management Development.

"Our Distance Learning initiative has proceeded rapidly over the past year," said Babson President Leo I. Higdon, Jr. "There is a tremendous synergy between the growing executive development markets and the explosion in on-line learning. With CEO Moore at the helm, we are moving ahead quickly in this highly competitive arena."

The venture will develop programs and business simulations for executives and graduate students using the most advanced instructional design. Babson expects to announce several partnerships with leading Distance Learning technology firms.

"Our deliverables will be high-touch, high-technology opportunities," said Moore, who believes that hybrid models, combining classroom interaction with Internet-enabled technology, provide the richest educational experience. Hybrids that carry graduate credit are under consideration. "Distance Learning is consistent with Babson's integrated, innovative learning programs," said Moore.

Programs offered and delivered entirely online will help meet the highly specific needs of the corporate clients in Babson's School of Executive Education according to Moore. "The accelerating pace of change and the continuous search for high-quality talent demand executive development programs that can be accessed worldwide at any time," said Moore. "Distance Learning is critical to the life-blood of our corporate clients."

Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, U.S.A., is internationally recognized for its focus on entrepreneurial leadership in a changing global environment. Babson is the only school currently ranked number one in entrepreneurship in the U.S. or worldwide by Business Week, the Financial Times, and U.S. News & World Report. Founded in 1919 by financier and entrepreneur Roger W. Babson, the school grants B.S., M.B.A. and custom M.S. degrees, and offers executive development programs to experienced managers worldwide. Its undergraduate and graduate programs are accredited by AACSB - The International Association for Management Education, and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.