She Left Babson 20 Years Ago. Now She’ll Be Running Its Business School

Kate Klepper will be the new dean of Babson College’s F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business. Babson photo

Babson College has named Kate Klepper as the new dean of its F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business, the school announced today (March 26). She replaces Keith Rollag, who became dean in 2018 and who has returned to the Babson faculty as a professor of management.

Klepper, who will join Babson in June, comes to the role with more than two decades of graduate management education leadership under her belt, most recently as associate dean for graduate programs at Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business, a post she has held since 2005.

The appointment puts a seasoned operator at the helm of one of the most decorated graduate entrepreneurship programs in the country. U.S. News & World Report has named Babson’s MBA program the best in entrepreneurship for 32 consecutive years. In Poets&Quants’ most recent ranking of world’s best MBA programs for entrepreneurship, Babson’s Olin School rose three spots to No. 10 – a climb that came despite significant methodological changes to the ranking.

At D’Amore-McKim, Klepper oversaw a broad portfolio of graduate business programs and led major initiatives in curriculum innovation, delivery systems, and global partnerships, with a focus on aligning academic programs with shifting workforce needs. Her tenure included managing large teams, overseeing multimillion-dollar budgets, and spearheading key institutional efforts such as AACSB reaccreditation and comprehensive curriculum reviews.

A CHAMPION OF FLEXIBLE LEARNING

She was also a visible champion of flexible, customizable learning. Klepper was a key architect behind Northeastern’s MSx program, a one-year Master in Management built around student-directed learning pathways that blend business and non-business disciplines. That emphasis on adaptable program design figures to be directly relevant at Babson, where Provost Ariel Armony cited her work on “graduate program platforms that place an emphasis on customizable, flexible learning pathways” as a key reason for her hire.

The appointment carries a homecoming dimension as well. Before joining Northeastern, Klepper served as Babson’s own dean of graduate admissions, where she led strategic marketing and enrollment initiatives and strengthened recruitment efforts for diverse student populations.

Klepper also sits on the Graduate Programs and Assessment Committee and the Graduate Dean’s Council at Northeastern University. Beyond her institutional roles, she has held leadership positions with the Graduate Management Admission Council, including serving on its board of directors and as chair. She holds an MBA from Northeastern and a B.S. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

PART OF A BROADER LEADERSHIP OVERHAUL

Klepper’s hire marks the second academic leadership appointment at Babson this academic year. Poonam Arora was named dean of the Undergraduate School last semester and joined the college this spring.

The hire comes as Babson continues to press its advantages in the increasingly competitive graduate entrepreneurship space. The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine named Babson No. 1 for entrepreneurship in the Northeast for both undergraduate and graduate programs for the fifth consecutive year in their 2026 rankings. The Wall Street Journal also ranked Babson the No. 2 college in America for 2026.

DON’T MISS HOW U.S. NEWS RANKS THE TOP U.S. B-SCHOOLS BY MBA SPECIALIZATION IN 2025 and POETS&QUANTS’ 2026 WORLD’S BEST MBA PROGRAMS FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP

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