If you were to go online and search Dennis Hanno, Wheaton’s president-elect, there would be a number of articles describing the wonderful things he has done for Babson College. If you dug a little more, you would unearth an old Facebook campaign run by Babson College alumni and students to have him elected as Babson’s president.
The Facebook page describes how important he was to the Babson community as a whole stating that Hanno “revolutionized the undergraduate experience” there.
The page goes on to read “He took the graduate school to the next level. It’s our responsibility to ensure he is enabled and empowered to continue defining Babson’s future. Tell the presidential search committee your Dean Hanno story. Everyone has one. Take five minutes. Then share this photo and tell your friends. The man. The legend. #PrezHANNO.”
It is obvious that President Hanno was loved and appreciated by the Babson community. Not only does the hashtag #PrezHANNO result in numerous responses from students and alumni, but parents add their praise as well. Each individual reply hailed Hanno as someone who cares about the students on campus, and who took the time to get to know everyone who resided at Babson; he is labeled as a visionary, a leader and a collaborator. President-elect Hanno seems to be the perfect fit for the Wheaton Community. So what exactly did he do at Babson to make him so popular?
On his Babson profile, Hanno has many titles. He is the provost and senior vice president. He is also the executive director for the Babson-Rwanda Entrepreneurship Center and a professor of accounting. Hanno has led programs dedicated to education and development in Africa over the past decade.
He seems to emphasize education and a broad spectrum of diversity. As a active leader in the accounting profession, he was most recently named one of BostInno’s 50 on Fire for “revolutionizing undergraduate education and for the active role he plays in the Boston and Babson communities.” He focuses on a student-centered approach that allows students to actively engage with him. That seems to work very well, judging from the overwhelming positive responses of the Babson community.
If there is one thing that you take away from this article, it should be that Hanno was well loved by his previous student community, and that he will be a perfect fit for the Wheaton community. His innovative ideas and sense of community will hopefully lead to some exciting new things for Wheaton, so share your excitement and let’s make that hashtag trend. #PrezHANNO.