Babson to hold inauguration ceremony, luncheon for new president Healey

By Jaclyn Reiss, Town Correspondent

Babson College will celebrate the inauguration of its new and 13th president, Kerry Murphy Healey, this Friday with a luncheon and a ceremony, both of which are open to all Babson community members, officials said.

The ceremony will begin at 2:30 p.m. under the tent on the upper athletic fields; the pre-inauguration lunch will be held at the Trim Dining Hall, officials said. The ceremony will include welcomings from area colleges' presidents, such as Harvard University's Drew Gilpin Faust, Wellesley College's H. Kim Bottomly, and Olin College's Richard K. Miller.

An invocation will be delivered by Swanee Hunt, former US ambassador to Austria and Harvard professor. A keynote address will be given by Raymond Offenheiser, president of the non-profit Oxfam America.

Healey succeeds Leonard Schlesinger, who announced in December that he would step down from the private, business-oriented school, which has about 2,000 undergraduates and 1,300 graduate students.

Though Healey is being inaugurated this week, she has been in her position as college president since July 1.

Healey, former Massachusetts lieutenant governor and Babson's first woman president, was appointed this spring even after students, faculty, staff, and some alumni raised objections to her qualifications and the process that led to the pick.

Many students and some faculty worried about a former politician leading the business-focused college, some telling the Globe in April that they have vehemently disagreed with the Republican's opinions. Others worried that the search committee chose her too quickly, and urged college leaders to revisit other candidates.

However, Babson trustee board members defended their choice in a rebuttal doled out to students and faculty this spring, and directed Healey to meet with the Babson community to squelch any fears.

"I plan to answer every question and sit down with every constituency," Healey previously told the Globe.

Healey told the Globe in April that she is no longer involved in partisan politics. She resigned from the Republican National Committee and has stopped advocating for candidates. She said she is unsure whether she would run for public office again. “I can’t even think more than six years ahead,” Healey previously said.

Healey served as lieutenant governor from 2003 to 2007. She attended Harvard, and holds a doctorate from Trinity College in Dublin.

The inauguration Friday will also be live-streamed. For more information, visit the college's website.

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Jaclyn Reiss can be reached at jaclyn.reiss@globe.com