History
BSU was founded by Horace Mann as a normal school styled Bridgewater Normal School. It opened on September 9, 1840. As one of the first normal schools in the nation, its initial mission was to train school teachers. Since the 1960s, the school has expanded its program to include liberal arts, business, and aviation science. Throughout its history, it has also been known as Bridgewater State College, Bridgewater Teachers College, Bridgewater State Teachers College, and State Teachers College at Bridgewater.
An early-morning fire on December 10, 1924, destroyed three of the college's buildings, over half of the campus. The cause was thought to be "rats or mice."
As of July 22, 2010, the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Senate have voted to change BSC to University status and its name to Bridgewater State University. The measure was signed into law by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick on July 28, 2010.
Read more about this topic: Bridgewater State University
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“the future is simply nothing at all. Nothing has happened to the present by becoming past except that fresh slices of existence have been added to the total history of the world. The past is thus as real as the present.”
—Charlie Dunbar Broad (1887–1971)
“I believe that history has shape, order, and meaning; that exceptional men, as much as economic forces, produce change; and that passé abstractions like beauty, nobility, and greatness have a shifting but continuing validity.”
—Camille Paglia (b. 1947)
“Only the history of free peoples is worth our attention; the history of men under a despotism is merely a collection of anecdotes.”
—Sébastien-Roch Nicolas De Chamfort (1741–1794)