Framingham State University

Framingham State University is a public university in Framingham, Massachusetts.  It offers undergraduate programs in a range of subjects, including art, biology, and communication arts, and graduate programs, including MBA, MEd, and MS.

History

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. A second normal school was opened in September 1839 in West Barre (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. The measure was signed into law by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick on July 28, 2010.

Timeline of name changes
The school has had several names in the past:
 1839 opened as The Normal School in Lexington
 1844 designated The Normal School in West Newton
 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

The 73-acre campus is located in Framingham, Massachusetts. Seven residence halls house over 1,500 students. The Henry Whittemore Library has over 200,000 volumes, Wi-Fi, access to over 70,000 electronic journals, 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.

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. It was named to the list again in 2013.

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.

The University's annual budget is $105 million, and the school has 775 full and part-time employees.

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.

Athletics

All Framingham State University teams compete at the NCAA Division III level. All teams compete in the Massachusetts State College 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.

In 2007, the women's soccer team was awarded the NCAA Sportsmanship Award.

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). 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.

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

Category:Educational institutions established in 1839
Category:Framingham State University
Category:Framingham, Massachusetts
Category:Liberal arts colleges
Category:Public universities and colleges in Massachusetts
Category:Universities and colleges in Middlesex County, Massachusetts