Babson College has named Professor Allan R. Cohen winner of the 2008 Walter H. Carpenter Prize for exceptional contributions to the College.
The Carpenter Prize, the highest honor an employee can receive, is awarded annually to an outstanding member of the Babson faculty, administration, or staff. The award was established to honor the late vice-president, dean, and professor, Walter H. Carpenter, who was committed to high standards of professional and personal life.
Cohen, who holds the Edward A. Madden Distinguished Professorship in Global Leadership, is well-known in the Babson community as an outstanding and devoted teacher.
Among his many leadership roles at Babson, Cohen has served as Babson’s Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty for seven years, Chair of the Management Division, Chair of the Faculty Research Facility, Co-chair of the Strategic Planning Committee on Management Education in the 21st Century, and currently as Acting Dean of the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business.
“Allan Cohen exemplifies the characteristics of teacher, scholar, community builder, and colleague,” said Babson president Brian M. Barefoot. “He has tremendous energy and creates excitement in the classroom—engaging students and encouraging them to see issues from many different perspectives. You also can see his commitment to students by all the time he spends with them outside the classroom.”
One nominator pointed out that “as a leader, Allan holds himself and others to high standards—often challenging individuals to go beyond their comfort zones.” Another noted that “besides the positions he has held and his leadership in important strategic initiatives, he is omnipresent in our community.”
“It still amazes me to be working at a place where I get to have so much fun doing what the organization needs, which is all too rare; but getting recognized for it is a wonderful and unanticipated bonus,” said Cohen.
Cohen is a world-renowned scholar, best-selling author, consultant in leadership development, influence, and organizational change, and an innovator in on-line teaching.
He has consulted on organizational change for companies such as GE, IBM, and Toshiba; he helped found the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad; and at the University of New Hampshire, he was the J.R. Carter Professor of Management. Cohen is coauthor of Influence Without Authority (which has been translated into 4 languages, most recently Japanese), Power Up: Transforming Organizations Through Shared Leadership, the award-winning Alternative Work Arrangements; Integrating Individual and Organizational Needs, and Managing for Excellence. He also edited The Portable MBA in Management.
Cohen earned an A. B. from Amherst College and a D.B.A. and M.B.A. from Harvard University. He lives in Lexington with his wife, Joyce.
Every year since 1982, Babson College has awarded The Carpenter Prize to a staff or faculty member who has demonstrated the following attributes: 1) a commitment to high standards in his or her professional and personal life; 2) outstanding service to the College over a period of years; and 3) sensitivity and concern for students and colleagues.
