Framingham State College

Framingham State College, at Framingham, Mass.; chartered 1838, opened 1839 at Lexington, moved to Framingham 1853, a normal school until 1930. Formerly known as the Massachusetts State Teachers College, it adopted its present name in 1960. The college is the oldest existing U.S. school for teachers and was the first under state control. It was established by Horace Mann, and its early success influenced the development of other normal schools.

Framingham State College is located in Framingham, Massachusetts, USA, 20 miles from Boston. It offers undergraduate programs in a range of subjects from Art to Biology to Communication Arts, and graduate programs including MBA, MEd, and MSc. The college also has undergraduate degree evening programs along with online courses.

History

As the first secretary of the newly created Board of Education in Massachusetts, Horace Mann instituted sweeping school reforms. A centerpiece of these changes was the creation of an experimental normal school, the first one in the United States, in Lexington, with Cyrus Peirce as its first principal or president. A companion was opened the next year in Bridgewater. Growth forced the normal school's relocation to West Newton in 1843, followed a decade later 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 afterward, with degreed teachers becoming the norm, the normal schools were renamed State Teachers Colleges. This was changed again 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 education degree.

Timeline of name changes

The school has had several names in the past:

• 1839 opened as the Normal School;
• 1845 designated State Normal School;
• 1932 became State Teacher's College at Framingham';
• 1960 became State College at Framingham; and
• 1968 became Framingham State College.

References

External links

• Framingham State College
• 150th Anniversary pages - includes a history of the college, information on past presidents, photos.
• Christa Corrigan McAuliffe Center for Education and Teaching Excellence
• John Stalker Institute of Food and Nutrition