Framingham State University

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Framingham State University

Motto	Live to the Truth
Type	Public university
Established	1839; 182 years ago (1839)
Accreditation	NECHE
Academic affiliations	Space-grant
Endowment	$32,763,694 (2014)[1]
President	F. Javier Cevallos
Dean	Meg Nowak
Administrative staff	167 full-time, 86 part-time
Students	6,429
Undergraduates	4,584
Postgraduates	1,845
Location	Framingham , Massachusetts , United States 42°17′52″N 71°26′12″W / 42.297742°N 71.436598°W / 42.297742; -71.436598Coordinates: 42°17′52″N 71°26′12″W / 42.297742°N 71.436598°W / 42.297742; -71.436598
Campus	Suburban, 143 acres
Newspaper
Colors	Gold and black
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division III, Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference
Mascot	Ram
Website	framingham.edu

Framingham State University is a public university in Framingham, Massachusetts. It offers undergraduate programs as well as graduate programs, including MBA, MEd, and MS.

History[]

Cyrus Peirce, first president

As the first secretary of the newly created Board of Education in Massachusetts, Horace Mann instituted school reforms that included the creation of an experimental normal school, the first one in the United States, in Lexington, in July 1839. Cyrus Peirce was its first principal or president.^[2] A second normal school was opened in September 1839 in (the school later moved to Westfield) followed by Bridgewater State College the next year. Growth forced the first normal school's relocation to West Newton in 1843, followed in 1853 by a move to the present site on Bare Hill in Framingham.

In 1922, the Framingham Normal School granted its first Bachelor of Science in Education degrees in conjunction with a four-year study program. Ten years later, with degreed teachers becoming the norm, the normal schools were renamed State Teachers Colleges. The name was changed in 1960 to the State College at Framingham when Bachelor of Arts degrees were added. At present, Masters' of Education, Arts, and Science degrees are granted as well. In 2007, the college began offering the Master's of Business Administration (MBA) degree. In October 2010, seven of the state colleges became state universities, unaffiliated with the University of Massachusetts system.^[3] The measure was signed into law by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick on July 28, 2010.^[4][5]

Timeline of name changes[]

The school has had several names in the past:^[2]

• 1839 opened as The Normal School in Lexington^[6]
• 1844 designated The Normal School in West Newton^[6]
• 1845 designated The State Normal School in West Newton
• 1853 designated The State Normal School in Framingham
• 1865 designated The Framingham Normal School
• 1889 designated The Framingham State Normal School
• 1932 became State Teachers College at Framingham
• 1945 became Framingham State Teachers College
• 1960 became State College at Framingham
• 1965 became Framingham State College
• 2010 became Framingham State University

Campus[]

May Hall, 19th-century architectural rendering

The 73-acre campus is located in Framingham, Massachusetts.^[7] Seven residence halls house over 1,500 students.^[8] The Henry Whittemore Library has over 200,000 volumes, Wi-Fi, access to over 70,000 electronic journals,^[9] and includes Archives and Special Collections.

Sustainability[]

In 2007, the school signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. That year, Massachusetts issued Executive Order No. 484, which mandated reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption for all state agencies and institutions. Greenhouse gases must be reduced 80% by 2050. In 2010, the school adopted a plan to convert its heating plant to natural gas and to convert its central chilled water plant to electric chillers.^[10]

Framingham State University was named a "Green College" by the Princeton Review in 2010 and 2011. It was one of 22 schools in Massachusetts to receive the distinction, and one of 311 nationwide.^[11] It was named to the list again in 2013.^[12]

Organization[]

Framingham State University is led by an eleven-member Board of Trustees. The governor appoints nine trustees to five-year terms, renewable once. The Framingham State University Alumni Association elects one trustee for a single five-year term. Finally, the student body elects one student trustee for a one-year term. In addition to five full board meetings each year, which are open to the public, the board also meets in standing committees.^[13]

The University's annual budget is $105 million, and the school has 775 full and part-time employees.^[14] Framingham State University is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.^[15]

Student life[]

Framingham State University has an Office of Student Involvement and Leadership Development. It has a relatively small campus which sits on roughly 77 acres.^[16]

Athletics[]

A football signed by the 1975 Framingham State Rams football team after defeating Curry College, 16-8.

All Framingham State University teams compete at the NCAA Division III level. All teams compete in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference. Men's programs include baseball, cross country, football, basketball, ice hockey, and soccer. Women's programs include cross country, lacrosse, softball, basketball, field hockey, soccer, and volleyball. All teams compete on campus, except for the baseball and softball teams who play on fields off-campus, as well as the ice hockey team who skates at the Loring Arena in Framingham. The university also offers a wide variety of intramural programs that include everything from badminton, to golf, to dodgeball. There is also a state-of-the-art athletic and recreation center that includes basketball courts, a volleyball court, and a weight room.^[17]

In 2007, the women's soccer team was awarded the NCAA Sportsmanship Award.^[18]

The Framingham State football program has seen several successful seasons in recent years. The Rams won the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference regular season championship four straight years (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013).^[19] In 2011, 2012, and 2013 the team also took the title as New England Football Conference Bogan Division champions, and outright champions in 2012. In 2010, the program won its first ECAC Northeast Bowl. The Rams participated in the 2013 NCAA Division III Football Championships, losing to SUNY Cortland in the first-round.^[20]

Notable alumni[]

• Anna Brackett, nineteenth century philosopher, educator
• Olivia A. Davidson, co-founder of Tuskegee Institute and wife of Booker T. Washington
• Jennie Howard, member of a pioneering group of educators who founded normal schools in Argentina
• Paul J. LeBlanc, President of Southern New Hampshire University; former President of Marlboro College
• Christa McAuliffe (Class of 1970), astronaut, part of teacher in space died in Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Center and memorial on campus in McAuliffe's honor.
• Brian J. Moran, Chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia
• Rebecca Pennell, first woman college professor in the United States, and niece of Horace Mann
• Charlotte Champe Stearns, mother of T. S. Eliot.
• Richard Thompson, Member of the Maine House of Representatives
• Ruth Graves Wakefield, inventor of the chocolate chip cookie
• Electa Nobles Lincoln Walton (1824-1908), educator, lecturer, writer, and suffragist

References[]

External links[]

• Official website
• Official athletics website