First: THANKS for a great decade, UMass Dartmouth! The mission of providing accessible higher education is a great one. Thank you students, alumni, colleagues, and those who gave the freedom to work on meaningful projects that involved students and research in sustainability on campus and in local communities.

Next: THANKS to my new colleagues at Babson College – it’s been inspiring to start to get to know you! I can’t say enough about the kindness and consideration shown to us new arrivals.

Friends have asked: “why leave the security of a tenured and comfortable job?” Below are factors I considered and the answers. For those ever similarly considering a career change, these may be questions that are helpful to ask yourself:

(1) do your values and vision align with those of the new group of people that you are considering joining? It’s been great to realize that Babson’s approach to education 100% aligns with what I believe to be optimal – to paraphrase the core aspects: (a) inform students about societal, environmental, and sustainability challenges in the world (b) help students appreciate who they are and their context and (c) challenge students to imagine and realize “win-win-win” solutions that solve problems while allowing themselves and others to prosper. 

(2) is there external validation of the approach of your potential new teammates? In this case, there are many: not just #1 rankings in entrepreneurship and return-on-investment and other accolades from multiple sources including US News & World Report, Financial Times, PayScale, The Princeton Review, and Entrepreneur magazine, but also the only “A” rating for “value added” out of the best 5 – and #2 ranking overall – out of about 1,500 colleges and universities by Money magazine in 2015 (which rated Babson #1 in 2014). Sure, rating methodologies and the value of rankings are disputed, but when multiple sources consistently say a team is delivering a superlative service, that suggests one may learn a thing or two by joining it.

(3) think about what brought you joy and inspiration in the past, and ask whether your new context is likely to deliver more of those rewards. The greatest gratification during a decade of teaching is watching students flourish as alumni – to name just a few: Cassie, Jacob, Jason, Jonathan, Josh, Kevin, Marven-rhode (running for City Council in Lynn already, partially on a sustainability platform!), and Natika – especially when they innovate and even start-up booming new companies that solve big problems, like Waste Hub. These people inspire me as much (or more) than I might have influenced them – here’s hoping for many more similarly inspiring friendships at Babson – that seems likely with a list of notable alumni like this one.

(4) if you think, in some small way, that you make the world better through your career, does the switch have the potential to magnify your impact? Specifically, (a) are you likely to grow and improve as a result of contact with this new circle of acquaintances, and (b) conversely, are you likely to impact a wider circle of people and bigger slice of reality in the new context that you are considering? In both respects, I think the answer is yes, considering Babson’s faculty, Babson’s multiple centers, and Babson’s mission.

(5) finally, emotionally, are you (and those closest to you) ready for some excitement? A fresh challenge can be invigorating and new colleagues and a new culture can be stimulating.  It felt like the right time for a new adventure.

So, again, many thanks to all those at UMass for support and inspiration during the past decade, and looking forward with much excitement to a new chapter with those of you at Babson!