Bridgewater State University is a public university with its main campus in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest of nine state universities in Massachusetts. Including its off-campus sites in New Bedford, Attleboro, and Cape Cod, BSU has the fourth-largest campus of the 29 institutions in the Massachusetts Public Higher Education System. BSU's sports teams are called the Bears. Its school colors are crimson, white, and black.

Bridgewater is referred to as the "home of teacher education in America", and has the largest enrollment of teacher education students in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Since the 1960s, the school has expanded its program to include liberal arts, business, and aviation science. It became a university and took on the name Bridgewater State University in 2010. During its history, it has been known as Bridgewater State Normal School (1846), Bridgewater State Teachers College (1932), State Teachers College at Bridgewater (1960), and Bridgewater State College (1965). Tillinghast Hall, the Training School, and old Woodward dormitories. The Normal School and the boiler room were saved. The fire was so large that other towns' fire departments had to be called to assist. or a spontaneous combustion. There were reportedly no injuries.

Mid twentieth century to present

In the 1950s, many veterans of the Korean War enrolled and proms were the highlight of the year for them.

During the 1960s the liberal arts curriculum was introduced.

Presidents

  • Nicholas Tillinghast (1840–1853)
  • Marshall Conant (1853–1860)
  • Albert Gardner Boyden (1860–1906)
  • Arthur Boyden (1906–1933)
  • Zenos E. Scott (1933–1937)
  • John J. Kelly (1937–1951)
  • Clement C. Maxwell (1951–1962)
  • Adrian Rondileau (1962–1986, 1988–1989)
  • Gerard T. Indelicato (1986–1987)
  • Adrian Tinsley (1989–2002)
  • Dana Mohler-Faria (2002–2015)
  • Frederick W. Clark Jr. (2015–present)

Academics

Bridgewater State University is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. It is also among America's oldest teacher education institutions and the first to have a building devoted to education of teachers.

The university has 108 majors in 35 areas of studies starting with the popular education, aviation, psychology, accounting, criminal justice and many others. The university has 30 academic departments ranging from Accounting and Finance to Theatre and Dance.

Schools to colleges

On July 1, 2010, the former School of Arts and Sciences was split into the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and the School of Science and Mathematics. In October 2010, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, the School of Science and Mathematics, the Ricciardi School of Business and the School of Graduate Studies, were all renamed colleges, and the Department of Social Work was renamed the School of Social Work. The College of Humanities and Social Sciences currently consists of fifteen academic departments, the Bartlett College of Science and Mathematics has six departments, the College of Education and Health Sciences has five departments, and the Ricciardi College of Business has three.

Honors program

Pope Hall is the home to the residential Honors first-year living-learning community. Weygand Hall is the home to the residential Honors upperclassman living-learning community

Research

The Adrian Tinsley Program (ATP) is the university's undergraduate research program.thumb|The adjacent MBTA station stop

Residential life

Normal schools, because they were state institutions, received no bequests from wealthy alumni.

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Clubs and organizations

Bridgewater State University has over 160 clubs and organizations.

Four sororities, three fraternities and one co-educational fraternity are offered at BSU: Alpha Sigma Tau, founded in 2014, Delta Phi Epsilon, founded on December 8, 2010, Gamma Phi Beta, founded November 22, 1987, Phi Sigma Sigma, founded in 1989, Kappa Delta Phi, founded on April 14, 1900, Phi Kappa Theta, founded in 1889, Sigma Pi, and Phi Pi Delta.

thumb|Crimson Hall

Bridgewater State's Student Government Association (SGA) is an organization of students who represent the Bridgewater State community. Through SGA, the student body can express their academic and social wants and needs. SGA is made up of five different boards: the policy board, finance board, events board, election board, and media board.

Student newspaper

The Comment had its start in 1927. At the time The Comment served "as bulletin of school affairs and to make each class better acquainted with the activities and interests of other classes." Today, The Comment has about 20 staff writers and prints nine newspapers per semester printing 1100 copies each time. It is funded by the SGA (Student Government Association). The Comment has a website that is updated daily with news about the school and sports at Bridgewater State University, but also with current news of the nation. Their main motive is to relate the stories back to Bridgewater students. With that being said, it is a common occurrence to see faces and stories of students in the newspaper. The Comment focuses on upcoming events rather than reviews to catch hold of the reader's interest.

Athletics

Bridgewater State University fields 22 varsity athletic teams (10 men's 12 women's) competing at the NCAA Division III level.

Future expansion

West Campus

The college had planned a $100 million renovation and expansion of the 1964 Marshall Conant Science Building (), but the plans changed, and instead, most of the old building was demolished and replaced with a new facility, which opened in 2011.

In April 2014, construction began on a new Welcome Center on Plymouth Street. The building is a two-story, 15,000-square-foot facility, and it houses the undergraduate and transfer admissions offices, along with the university's financial aid offices. Construction of the Welcome Center was completed in the Spring of 2015.

Renovations and additions to Woodward Hall began in June 2014 and finished shortly before the Fall 2014 semester commenced. The renovation included the installation of new floors, ceilings and walls, along with new bedroom furniture and the installation of an elevator & entrance stairs.

A new residence hall, Weygand Hall, was constructed on East Campus in 2013. The building uses geothermal and solar energy to minimize energy usage.

The roughly 200-space parking lot next to the MBTA railroad underpass on East Campus has been converted into a park to balance the construction of a parking garage behind Crimson Hall. Construction on the park was completed in late 2012.

Cape Cod campus

In November 2013, the university announced plans to open a satellite campus on Cape Cod. The opening of this satellite campus helped to accommodate the high number of students who commute daily to the main campus from Cape Cod. Approximately 600 Bridgewater State students reside on or commute from Cape Cod to the main campus in Bridgewater. The campus is located in the former MacArthur School in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts. This satellite campus opened in January 2015, offering undergraduate and graduate courses in Early Childhood Education, Educational Leadership, Secondary Education, Reading, and Special Education, along with certificate programs in Business and Social Work. The campus offers a number of undergraduate credit courses in History beginning in Summer 2015.

Attleboro campus

In January 2009 a small location was opened up in Attleboro, Massachusetts. It is attached to Bristol Community College. Located at 11 Field Road, Attleboro, MA 02703

Media

Bridgewater State University has a student-run radio station, 91.5 WBIM-FM.

Bridgewater State University has had its own student-run newspaper since 1927, called The Comment.

  • Stephen Canessa, (Bachelor's degree), former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (served 2006–2011)
  • Robert Correia, (MEd 1968), member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (served 1977–2008); former Mayor of Fall River, Massachusetts (served 2008–2010)
  • Jeff Corwin, (B.S.), actor, conservationist, producer, popular TV host
  • Christopher Dijak, professional wrestler currently signed to WWE's developmental brand NXT.
  • Jeffrey Donovan, actor
  • James H. Fagan, (B.A. 1969), member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1993–2011)
  • Rebecca Field, part of the ensemble cast of October Road
  • Mark Goddard, actor, film writer
  • Lou Gorman (master's degree), former general manager of the Boston Red Sox (1988–1993)
  • Jeff Gorton, general manager of the New York Rangers
  • Walter Harding, (B.S.), distinguished professor, prominent scholar
  • Gayle McLaughlin, Mayor of the city of Richmond, California
  • Peter McNeeley, former professional heavyweight boxer
  • Raymond J. McNulty, Dean of the School of Education at Southern New Hampshire University
  • Paul Melicharek, PIFL football player for the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks
  • Joan Menard, former member of the Massachusetts Senate (served 1999–2011); former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (served 1979–1999)
  • Debbie Mueller, only American winner of the Dublin Marathon, 1984 winner of Twin Cities Marathon, pioneer of woman's road racing, BSU Hall of Fame inductee of 1989
  • Andrae Murphy, American football player and coach
  • Cristina Nardozzi, Miss Massachusetts USA 2005
  • Warren G. Phillips (B.A., M.A. in Teaching Physical Sciences, M.Ed. in Instructional Technology), teacher, inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame 2010
  • Martin V. Pratt, member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
  • Chris Sparling, screenwriter and director
  • Frank Palmer Speare (1889), first president of Northeastern University
  • M. Estella Sprague (1887), professor and dean of home economics at the University of Connecticut
  • Robert Stack, actor and former host of Unsolved Mysteries
  • Ken Stone, professional mixed martial artist
  • David B. Sullivan, (MEd), member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (served 1997–2013)
  • Karl Wiedergott, voice actor on The Simpsons
  • Jordon Hudson, companion to Bill Belichick

Faculty

  • John Bardo, educator, President of Wichita State University, Chancellor of Western Carolina University.
  • Richard T. Moore, Massachusetts state senator

Notes

References

  • Athletics website