Boston State College - Bostonian / Lampas Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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Dr. John O ' Neill succeeded Dr. Looney as the college ' s 6th president on September 1, 1968, the same year the college became known as Boston State College. After the resignation of Dr. O ' Neill in 1970, Dr. Robert J. Bond and later Dr. Robert V. McCarthy served as Acting Presidents. In May 1971 Mr. Kermit C. Morrissey was elected President. In 1974 the fourteen story addition of Huntington Avenue was started. Because of the financial state of the Commonwealth, it will not be completed until sometime in the unforseen future. 1926 to 1951 A search in the archives of the college failed to reveal any copies of yearbooks or other material which would give us a picture of the students, their problems and activities. Therefore, the record from here is strictly historical. In 1926 the college was granted the right to award a Master of Education degree. The depression of the 1930 ' s saw a clamor to abolish the school. This was defeated. In 1942 the college was accredited by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education after a 20 year wait, under the leadership of Dr. William H. J. Kennedy, President of the college from 1926 to 1948. In 1948 men were admitted to the 4 year course in Elementary Education following a 44 year wait; since men had been admitted to the Normal School in 1904. It was also during this year (1948) that Dr. William F. Looney took over the helm as the college ' s 5th president. 1901 to 1926 The school moved to its present location on Huntington Avenue in 1907. In 1913 the 2 year course was lengthened to 3 years with greater attention given to kindergarten work. During the same year the University Extension Commission, after careful inspection, certified credit toward the degree of Associate in 7 courses out of the 17 offered. The addition of 2 four-year courses, in 1922, gave the students an opportunity to qualify for the degree of Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Science in Education. Then in 1924, the school ' s name was changed to the Teacher ' s College of the City of Boston. 1876 to 1901 Boston Normal School was the name by which our college was known 100 years ago. About this time, a fourth year of work was added to the course of study in the Girl ' s High School. Always alert to raise its standards, Boston Normal School immediately required that each applicant for admission to the school, would have to complete 4 years of high school before being accepted. This gave Boston Normal School the distinction of being the first normal school in the United States to demand 4 years of high school work as an admission requirement. In 1888 the Normal School course was extended from its original length of 1 year to IVi years, and in 1899 kindergarten training was added as a supplementary course. Kindergarten training was in its infancy then, and the Boston Normal School was the first public institution to give training in that fine. The time required for matriculation was increased to 2 full years in 1892.