University of Massachusetts Boston
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Boston State


Alumni from  Boston State College and its predecessor institutions at UMass Boston's December 2007 Boston State College Room dedication.


The University of Massachusetts Boston has a rich history that is intertwined with the city it calls home and, with the engagement of its alumni will continue to make history. UMass Boston is especially proud to remember, value, and build on the traditions and legacy of Boston State College.

Its Boston State College Room, located in the Campus Center, is a special place of tribute and memory to 131 years of “Education for Service,” the college’s motto. The room, used for meetings, seminars, trainings, conferences, and study sessions, contains more than 80 photos and items of memorabilia that bring to life the spirit of Boston State College.


A History of “Education for Service”


The university’s earliest mission begins in 1851 when Superintendent Nathan Bishop proposed building a
normal school to train elementary school teachers. Girls’ High School held its first classes in the
Adams School building on Mason Street in 1852.

Girls’ High was renamed Girls’ High and Normal School in 1854. It moved to new quarters
on West Newton Street in 1870.

Boston Normal School became a separate institution in 1872 and moved to first the
Rice School building on Dartmouth Street in 1876, then a specially-built facility on Huntington Avenue in 1907.

The school then went through another series of name changes:

• 1922: Teachers College of the City of Boston
• 1952: State Teachers College at Boston
• 1960: State College at Boston
• 1968: Boston State College

In 1982, Boston State merged with UMass Boston to form what has become one of the state’s major academic enterprises and Boston’s only public university.


617.287.5330

100 Morrissey Blvd.
Boston, MA 02125-3393
Email: alumni@umb.edu

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