Babson Talks Finance, Student Enrollment with Select Board
September 9, 2025
• The unique collegiate-municipal partnership was on display this week during an annual check-in.
The Needham Select Board met on Tuesday morning with leadership at Babson College, who shared insight into the school’s financial state, rise in global rankings and continued connection with the town.
Babson President Stephen Spinelli Jr. addressed attendees and took questions at the college’s Glavin Chapel, following independent discussions. Babson administration and town officials meet annually to stay up-to-date on projects, challenges and goings-on.
“We really appreciate the relationship with Wellesley and Needham,” Spinelli said. “We want to build with you going into the future.”
Babson’s campus resides both in Wellesley and Needham and is adjacent to Olin College. The school employs 61 Needhamites — who are “infusing lots of dollars into your community,” Spinelli said — and graduated 18 Needham residents in May, nine of whom were undergraduates.
The college also awards yearly scholarships to Needham residents and Needham High School alumni. Seven received the scholarship earlier this spring.
During his remarks, Spinelli touted Babson’s No. 2 ranking on the Wall Street Journal’s 2025 Best U.S. Colleges ranking, released last September. The college jumped from the No. 10 slot the year prior, up from No. 126 — the “100-somethings,” as Spinelli put it — in 2022. The 2026 rankings are expected sometime this month.
“It’s a great time for Babson,” he said. “The move to No. 2 really put us on the map.”
The number caught Town Manager Katie King’s eye as she entered the campus Tuesday — banners across the school share rankings it’s received, including from the WSJ. Meeting with school administrators provides valuable insight into another part of Needham, she said.
“For Babson and the town, we are all part of one community,” she said in an interview after the meeting.
King inquired about the school’s international enrollment, which leadership said will not drastically change under new federal policies. Twenty-seven percent of Babson’s Class of 2028 are international, according to data from its website, though they anticipate they may lose some students.
Its new freshmen class hails from about 33 different countries, and Spinelli said they commit themselves to “Inclusive Excellence.” “The government has left us alone,” he added.
The school is in good financial shape, he added, and is looking to begin construction of the Executive Lodge and Conference Center, an event center that will also house more than 70 guest rooms, in 2026. Babson’s Herring Family Entrepreneurial Leadership Village, which opened last year, will also undergo an expansion in 2027 — Spinelli said the project will be “the largest single investment in entrepreneurship” on the campus.
“Virtually every business school now offers entrepreneurship,” Spinelli said. “We led a revolution in business school education.”
Along with King, all five Select Board members attended the informal meeting.
“Babson is such an important and fundamental resource to our community,” Chair Heidi Frail said in an interview. “The cyclical nature of these meetings [demonstrate] the curiosity and improvement that benefits the Needham community.”
Despite the challenging state of higher education, Spinelli underscored the school’s standing and its ties with local leaders, which can provide strength. The school’s global influence, he said, “starts with the town.”
Next month, Babson will host the Greater Needham Wellesley Sustainability Summit in an effort “to build a regional alliance for climate action, environmental stewardship, and resilient communities,” according to a university spokesperson. The invite-only event will include leaders from Needham and Wellesley, as well as representatives from Babson, Olin and Wellesley College.
