University of Bridgeport - Wistarian Yearbook (Bridgeport, CT)

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med!! Scurr 7927-1961

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WI TAR! ROBERT A. ANDERSON editor-in-chief ROBERT RESTA business manager FRANK MILLER layout editor ELIZABETH SIMMONS copy editor

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The University of Bridgeport was. in 1926. still a rather nebulous concept. E. Everett Cortright returned from New York and met with fellow Rotarians to ascertain their feelings about an idea which had been whirling about his mind. They. too. were fired with enthusiasm about the possibility of a co-educational, non-sectarian. independ- ent institution of higher learning in Bridgeport. Through their effonts and the efforts of many others in the city. the Junior College of Connecticut was established in 1927. The venture opened in one building on Fairfield Avenue with a faculty of ten. including Dean Scurr. and a student body of seventy-five. Since its inception in 1927. it has made important strides in all areas of achievement. By 1961 the University had a faculty of one hundred sixty-six. and the enrollment had increased more than thirty-seven times. Twenty states and fifteen foreign countries were represented in that number. The cultural advancements are notable. Among those may be listed the establishment of the Human Relations Center. the Foreign Film Festival. the student art exhibits, and the addition of a Cultural Center to the facilities of Carlson Library. The Cultural Center houses such activities as recitals. concerts. and lectures. Scholastically. - the improvements at the University of Bridgeport are many. That a higher standard of achievement has been established is indicated by the fact that College Entrance Examination Boards are now an entrance requirement and Graduate Record Examinations a graduation requisite. For the first time in its history, in 1961 the University conferred honorary doctoral degrees on such interna- tional figures as Dr. Martin Luther King. Henry Labouisse. John Hersey. and Charles Parr. The 1962 honorary degrees were given to Richard Rodgers. Igor Sikorsky. and Dr. Rosemary Park, representing the Arts. Sci-ence, and Education respectively. At present there are a dozen academic units incorporated in the University, including a nationally known summer program designed to advance the gifted science student of high school age. It is obvious to all that those who have gone before us were instrumental in the ad- vance of our University. It is left for us to establish a tradition of excellence in all fields. U li 1'-?.' 3 Ti Q1 DJ l il? 'Rv EL U li' EB R l El G Q Tall?