Jerry Greenfield Brings Scoops of Wisdom—and Ice Cream—to Campus

By Shannon Sigafoos

On May 13, seniors on the Class Year Experience Committee hosted Jerry Greenfield, one of two founders (along with Ben Cohen) of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream empire, as this year’s Senior Speaker. In front of a socially-distanced Lafayette crowd spread out on blankets across the quad, Greenfield discussed entrepreneurship, early struggles, and perseverance. 

He also discussed how important it is to give back, noting that the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation has funded community service projects nationwide and that he and Cohen have always been looking at what more they can do to meet the needs of others. 

Greenfield’s team bought numerous flavors of ice cream for attendees to enjoy, which was given out after the speech wrapped up and students had time to savor not only their tasty treats, but the wisdom that Greenfield had imparted. 

“Business is a combination of organized human energy and money, which equals power,” said Greenfield. “It’s become clear that business is really the most powerful source in our society today.”