Lowell State College
| Lowell State College | |
|---|---|
| Established | June 6, 1894 |
| Type | Public |
| Location |
Lowell, Massachusetts, United States 42°38′31.13″N 71°20′7.30″W / 42.6419806°N 71.3353611°WCoordinates: 42°38′31.13″N 71°20′7.30″W / 42.6419806°N 71.3353611°W |
| Campus | Urban |
| Website | http://www.uml.edu |
Lowell State College was a public college located in Lowell, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded in 1894 as the Lowell Normal School.[1]
History
Early years
The original building, now named Coburn Hall, was built in 1897. It was built at the corner of Broadway and Wilder Street, after the state selected the site and the city bought the land.[2] Four classes met on the Wilder Street side of the structure when classes first started, on October 4, 1897 as the building was still unfinished. The building was dedicated on June 15, 1898. Frank F. Coburn, for whom the hall is named, was appointed the school's first principal. He remained there until 1908.[1]
The main mission of the school at that time was to prepare students for the teaching of elementary education. Courses typically took two years, with the third and fourth years optional because of space in the building. In 1910, the mission of the school expanded with the creation of a three-year music program.[1]
As the mission of the school was to train the students, they needed space so that the students would be able to practice their skills. The nearby Bartlett Training School was first used when twenty seven rooms were made available.[2] In the late 1930s, the school faced closure due to a state plan to close four state colleges.[2]
Expansion
One of the first buildings was Concordia Hall. The dedication of buildings named for each of the six presidents was held on June 9, 1974. These buildings were built in the style of brutalism.[1] The school gained university status in 1959.[3]
Merger
In 1972, a feasibility study was conducted on merging the school with the nearby Lowell Technological Institute.[4] In 1975, the schools merged to form the University of Lowell, which changed its name in 1991 to the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Today, the school's campus is known as the South Campus of UMass Lowell.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Graduate School of Education Umass Lowell-History". Lowell, Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts Lowell. 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Hudon, Paul (November 15, 2004). Lower Merrimack: The Valley and Its Peoples (1st ed.). American Historical Press. pp. 186–191. ISBN 1-892724-44-8.
- ↑ "University of Massachusetts -- Lowell". Lowell, Massachusetts: Alloy Education. 2010. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
- ↑ Auburn, Norman Paul (1972). Study on feasibility of merging Lowell Technological Institute and Lowell State College. Lowell, Massachusetts: Merger Study Team, Academy for Educational Development.