History Tufts University

1 history

1.1 19th century
1.2 20th century
1.3 21st century

history

19th century

tufts college, c. 1854

in 1840s, universalist church wanted open college in new england, , charles tufts donated 20 acres church in 1852 them achieve goal. charles tufts had inherited land, barren hill 1 of highest points in boston area, called walnut hill, , when asked family member intended land, said put light on . 20-acre donation (then valued @ $20,000) still @ heart of tufts now-150 acre campus, straddling somerville , medford. in 1852 commonwealth of massachusetts chartered tufts college, noting college should promote virtue , piety , learning in such of languages , liberal , useful arts shall recommended . during tenure, ballou spent year travelling , studying in united kingdom. methods of instruction initiated based on tutorials conducted in university of oxford , university of edinburgh. more 160 years old, tufts third-oldest college in boston area.

having been 1 of biggest influences in establishment of college, hosea ballou ii became first president in 1853, , college hall, first building on campus, completed following year. building bears ballou s name. campus opened in august 1854. president ballou died in 1861 , succeeded alonzo ames miner. though not college graduate, presidency marked several advances. these include establishment of preparatory schools tufts include goddard seminary, westbrook seminary, , dean academy. during civil war college actively supported union cause. mansion of major george l. stearns stood on part of campus station on underground railroad. in addition having largest classes spring up, 63 graduates served in union army. first course of three-year program leading degree in civil engineering established in 1865, same year mit founded. 1869, crane theological school organized.

miner s successor, elmer capen first president tufts alumnus. during time, 1 of earliest innovators amos dolbear. in 1875, chair of physics department, installed working telephone connected lab in ballou hall home on professors row. 2 years later alexander graham bell receive patent. dolbear s work in tufts later continued marconi , tesla. other famous scholars include william leslie hooper in addition serving acting president, designed first slotted armature dynamos. student @ college, frederick stark pearson, become 1 of america s pioneers of electrical power industry. became responsible development of electric power , electric street car systems many cities in south america , europe used. notable figure stephen m. babcock developed first practical test determine amount of butterfat in milk. since development in college, babcock test has hardly been modified. expansion of chemistry , biology departments largely led scholars arthur michael, 1 of first organic chemists in u.s., , john sterling kingsley, 1 of first scholars of comparative anatomy.

jumbo in barnum museum of natural history

p. t. barnum 1 of earliest benefactors of tufts college, , barnum museum of natural history (barnum hall) constructed in 1884 funds donated him house collection of animal specimens , stuffed hide of jumbo elephant, become university s mascot. building stood until april 14, 1975, when fire gutted barnum hall, destroying entire collection.

on july 15, 1892, tufts board of trustees voted college opened women in undergraduate departments on same terms , conditions men . metcalf hall opened in 1893 , served dormitory women. @ same meeting, trustees voted create graduate school faculty , offer ph.d. degree in biology , chemistry. in 1893 medical school opened , in 1899 boston dental college integrated university. in 1890, department of electrical engineering created, , in 1892–1893 course of three-year program in civil engineering extended 4 years. advent of four-year program degrees granted bachelor of civil or electrical engineering. tufts college added department of mechanical engineering , department of chemical engineering in 1894 , 1898, respectively. in 1898, trustees voted formally establish undergraduate college of engineering.

20th century

walnut hill appeared prior construction of tisch library , steps, circa 1910. in center eaton hall. road right no longer exists.

the jackson college women established in 1910 coordinate college adjacent tufts campus. in 1980 integrated college of liberal arts still recognized in formal name of undergraduate arts , sciences division, college of liberal arts , jackson college . undergraduate women in arts , sciences continued receive diplomas jackson college until 2002.

tufts expanded in 1933 opening of fletcher school of law , diplomacy, first graduate school of international affairs in united states. fletcher school began joint effort between tufts , harvard university, funded endowment longtime tufts benefactor , alumnus dr. austin barclay fletcher. tufts assumed full administration of fletcher school in 1935, , strong linkages between 2 schools remain.

during world war ii, tufts college 1 of 131 colleges , universities nationally took part in v-12 navy college training program offered students path navy commission.

due travel restrictions imposed world war ii, boston red sox conducted spring training 1943 major league season @ tufts college. in 1955, continued expansion reflected in change of school s name tufts university.

the university experienced growth during presidency of jean mayer (1976–1992). mayer established tufts veterinary, nutrition, , biomedical schools , acquired grafton , talloires campuses, @ same time lifting university out of dire financial situation increasing size of endowment factor of 15.

the college of engineering added graduate study curriculum beginning in 1961, master s degrees available in 4 departments. added ph.d. programs in mechanical engineering in 1963, electrical engineering in 1964, engineering design in 1981, , civil engineering in 1985. in 1984 ceo , chairman of analogic corporation , neurologica corporation bernard marshall gordon founded tufts gordon institute first educational institution created foster entrepreneurship in engineering fields. in 1991 new england association of schools , colleges accredited institute confer degree of master of science in engineering management , in 1992 gordon institute became part of college of engineering. in 1999, college of engineering became school of engineering, when oversight of graduate engineering programs transferred graduate school of arts , sciences. part of same reorganization faculty of arts , science became faculty of arts, sciences, , engineering (as&e).

21st century

sophia gordon hall (2006) tufts newest residence hall

under president larry bacow, tufts started capital campaign in 2006 goal of raising $1.2 billion implement full need-blind admission 2011. of december 10, 2010 campaign raised $1.14 billion. tufts received largest donations in history since 2005, including $136 million bequest endowment upon dissolution of charitable trust set 1911 alumnus frank c. doble, $100 million gift ebay founder pierre omidyar establish omidyar-tufts microfinance fund, , number of $40 million-plus gifts specific schools.

in 2008, hines interests , tudc, subsidiary of university, planned break ground on south station tower. tufts had acquired air rights south station in 1990, former president jean meyer envisioning tower center of medical research. preliminary design done cesar pelli, construction scheduled start in 2017. however, tufts withdrew project in 2009.

on november 30, 2010, university announced anthony p. monaco, formerly of oxford, become thirteenth president. monaco s inauguration took place on october 21, 2011.

as of october 15, 2015, computer science surpassed international relations largest major @ university, 466 declared majors.

on december 22, 2015, university announced run school of museum of fine arts. merger completed on june 30, 2016.

in december 2015, university completed reconstruction of memorial stairs. new central energy plant under construction , set finish in summer of 2016. replace aging 60 year old plant , provide new efficiency boilers in addition providing university directly electricity, heated , chilled water, university cut emissions. university constructing new science , engineering complex (sec). sec feature state of art laboratories , foster interdisciplinary research between neuroscience , environmental science departments. new building finished summer of 2017 , join newly rehabilitated 574 boston avenue in expansion of classroom , laboratory facilities engineering school.

in 2016, microsoft co-founder paul allen pledged $10 million donation on 4 years creation of allen discovery centers @ tufts , stanford. centers fund research read , write morphogenetic code. tufts biologist michael levin lead center research focusing on communications between cells , causation of birth defects, cancer, traumatic injuries , degenerative diseases.