View source for Framingham State University

{{Short description|Public university in Framingham, Massachusetts, US}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox university
 | name                   = Framingham State University
 | image                  = FraminghamUniversityLogo.png
 | image_size             = 120
 | former_name            = {{collapsible list|
* Normal School in Lexington (1839–1844)
* Normal School in West Newton (1844–1845)
* State Normal School in West Newton (1845–1853)
* State Normal School in Framingham (1853–1865)
* Framingham Normal School (1865–1889)
* Framingham State Normal School (1889–1932)
* State Teachers College at Framingham (1932–1945)
* Framingham State Teachers College (1945–1960)
* State College at Framingham (1960–1965)
* Framingham State College (1965–2010)
}}
 | motto                  = Live to the Truth
 | established            = {{start date and age|1839}}
 | type                   = [[Public university]]
 | academic_affiliations  = [[National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program|Space-grant]]
 | accreditation          = [[New England Commission of Higher Education|NECHE]]
 | endowment              = $35 million (2020)<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.framingham.edu/Assets/uploads/about-fsu/business-office/_documents/financial-statements-2020.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2021-10-20 |archive-date=2021-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020200125/https://www.framingham.edu/Assets/uploads/about-fsu/business-office/_documents/financial-statements-2020.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
 | budget                 = $105 million
 | faculty                = 301 (189 full-time, 112 part-time)<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.framingham.edu/Assets/uploads/about-fsu/office-of-institutional-research/_documents/cds-2020-2021-i-instructional-faculty-and-class-size.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2021-10-20 |archive-date=2021-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020200124/https://www.framingham.edu/Assets/uploads/about-fsu/office-of-institutional-research/_documents/cds-2020-2021-i-instructional-faculty-and-class-size.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
 | president              = Nancy Niemi
 | vice-president         = Lorretta Holloway
 | principal              = 
 | provost                = Kristen Porter-Utley
 | dean                   = Meg Nowak
 | total_staff            = 347 (334 faculty, 89% with terminal degrees)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.framingham.edu/about-fsu/facts-and-figures |title=facts and figures |publisher=Framingham.edu |date= 8 September 2017|access-date=2022-02-26 |archive-date=2021-09-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914142539/https://www.framingham.edu/about-fsu/facts-and-figures |url-status=live }}</ref>
 | students               = 4,111 (Fall 2022)<ref name="framingham1">{{cite web|url=https://www.framingham.edu/about-fsu/office-of-institutional-research/quick-facts/index|title=Quick Facts|date=24 July 2015 |access-date=2021-10-04|archive-date=2021-10-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004223012/https://www.framingham.edu/about-fsu/office-of-institutional-research/quick-facts/index|url-status=live}}</ref>
 | undergrad              = 2,970 (Fall 2022)<ref name="framingham1"/>
 | postgrad               = 1,141 (Fall 2022)<ref name="framingham1"/>
 | address                = 
 | city                   = [[Framingham, Massachusetts|Framingham]]
 | state                  = [[Massachusetts]]
 | postalcode             = 01701
 | country                = U.S.
 | coor                   = {{coord|42.2977|-71.4366|display=inline,title}}
 | campus                 = Suburban, {{convert|143|acre}}
 | campus_size            = 
 | colors                 = FSU Gold and FSU Black<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.framingham.edu/Assets/uploads/about-fsu/marketing-and-communications/documents/071517_EMG-Branding_StyleGuide_final.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2021-10-27 |archive-date=2021-09-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907200413/https://www.framingham.edu/Assets/uploads/about-fsu/marketing-and-communications/documents/071517_EMG-Branding_StyleGuide_final.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> {{color box|#EBAB00}} {{color box|#000000}}
 | mascot                 = Sam the Ram
 | free_label             = Newspaper
 | free                   = ''The Gatepost''
 | sports_nickname        = [[Framingham State Rams|Rams]]
 | sporting_affiliations  = [[NCAA Division III]], [[Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference]], [[Little East Conference]]
 | website                = {{URL|https://www.framingham.edu/|framingham.edu}}
 | logo                   = Framingham st univ logo.png
 | logo_size              = 200
}}

'''Framingham State University''' '''(Framingham State or FSU)''' is a [[public university]] in [[Framingham, Massachusetts]]. The university, then known as the '''Normal School in Lexington''' was founded in 1839 as the first state-supported [[normal school]] in the United States before becoming a full-fledged university. It offers [[undergraduate]] programs as well as [[Graduate school|graduate]] programs, including [[MBA]], [[MEd]], and [[Master of Science|MS]].

==History==
[[File:Cyrus Peirce 1790-1860.jpg|thumb|left|[[Cyrus Peirce]], first president]]
As the first secretary of the newly created Board of Education in [[Massachusetts]], [[Horace Mann]] instituted school reforms that included the creation of an experimental [[normal school]], the first one in the United States, in [[Lexington, Massachusetts|Lexington]], in July 1839. The initial name of the school was the "Normal School in Lexington".<ref name=Adams1853>{{cite book|title= Massachusetts Register |year=1853 |author=George Adams |location=Boston |publisher=Printed by Damrell and Moore |chapter=Education in Massachusetts |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=MScDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA262}}</ref> [[Cyrus Peirce]] was its first principal or president.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web|url=http://www.framingham.edu/henry-whittemore-library/curriculum-library-archives-and-special-collections/150-years-in-framingham/our-history.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620132902/http://www.framingham.edu/henry-whittemore-library/curriculum-library-archives-and-special-collections/150-years-in-framingham/our-history.html|url-status=dead|title=Framingham State College – 150 Years in Framingham<!-- Bot generated title -->|archive-date=June 20, 2010}}</ref> 

[[File:Framingham State Univ May Hall 1891.JPG|thumb|left|May Hall, 19th-century architectural rendering]]
A second normal school was opened in September 1839 in [[West Barre]] (the school later moved to [[Westfield State College|Westfield]]) followed by [[Bridgewater State College]] the next year. Growth forced the first normal school's relocation to [[West Newton, Massachusetts|West Newton]] in 1843, where it was firstly named the "Normal School in West Newton" before changing again to the "State Normal School in West Newton" two years later in 1845.<ref name=Adams1853 />

The school would last in West Newton for only ten years before moving to its present site on Bare Hill in Framingham in 1853. At this time, the school became the "State Normal School in Framingham". Nevertheless, the school would change its name two more times in its first decades in Framingham, becoming "Framingham Normal School" in 1865 and "Framingham State Normal School" in 1889. In 1922, the school granted its first [[Bachelor of Science]] in Education degrees in conjunction with its adoption of a four-year study program. Ten years later all Massachusetts' normal schools were renamed state teachers colleges, with degreed teachers predominating its graduating classes; the school thus became the "State Teachers College at Framingham". This name, however, would last only until 1945 when it was slightly adjusted to the "Framingham State Teachers College".

In 1960, the name changed yet again to the "State College at Framingham" after [[Bachelor of Arts]] degrees were added. This name was slightly adjusted five years later to just "Framingham State College", the name it would subsequently take into the twenty first century. In subsequent years, [[Master's degree|Masters']] of Education, Arts, and Science degrees were added as well, remaining a part of the school's curriculum today. In 2007, the college began offering the Master's of Business Administration (MBA) degree. In October 2010, seven of the state colleges became state universities, unaffiliated with the [[University of Massachusetts]] system; at this time, the school adopted its current name: Framingham State University.<ref>[http://www.mass.gov/legis/186history/h04864.htm Bill Details – H4864<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The measure was signed into law by Massachusetts governor [[Deval Patrick]] on July 28, 2010.<ref>[http://www.salemstate.edu/about/10414.php Salem State University: University Designation<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927002323/http://www.salemstate.edu/about/10414.php |date=2011-09-27 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.salemstate.edu/about/10414.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927002323/http://www.salemstate.edu/about/10414.php|url-status=dead|title=Salem State University: University Designation<!-- Bot generated title -->|archive-date=September 27, 2011}}</ref>

==Campus==
The {{convert|73|acre|adj=on}} campus is located in [[Framingham, Massachusetts]].<ref name=usnews>{{cite web|url=http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/framingham-ma/framingham-state-2185|title=Framingham State University|publisher=US News|access-date=2010-12-05|archive-date=2010-12-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223070926/http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/framingham-ma/framingham-state-2185|url-status=live}}</ref> Seven residence halls house over 1,500 students.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.framingham.edu/presidents-office/index.html|title=Office of the President|access-date=2010-12-05|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101214014936/https://www.framingham.edu/presidents-office/index.html|archive-date=2010-12-14}}</ref> The Henry Whittemore Library has over 200,000 volumes, Wi-Fi, access to over 70,000 electronic journals,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.framingham.edu/henry-whittemore-library/index.html|title=Library|publisher=Framingham State University|access-date=2010-12-05|archive-date=2010-10-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101031042324/http://framingham.edu/henry-whittemore-library/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and includes Archives and Special Collections. Framingham State University is located on the {{convert|282|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us|adj=on}} high Bare Hill (also known as Normal Hill)<ref>{{cite web|title=FSU History – Part 1|url=https://www.framingham.edu/academics/henry-whittemore-library/special-collections-archives/university-history/history-part1|access-date=2021-10-04|website=Blank|language=en|archive-date=2021-09-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930135813/https://www.framingham.edu/academics/henry-whittemore-library/special-collections-archives/university-history/history-part1|url-status=live}}</ref> and provides views of [[Boston|Boston, Massachusetts]] {{convert|20|mi|km|abbr=off|sp=us}} away.

===Sustainability===
In 2007, the school signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. That year, Massachusetts issued Executive Order No. 484, which mandated reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption for all state agencies and institutions. Greenhouse gases must be reduced 80% by 2050. In 2010, the school adopted a plan to convert its heating plant to natural gas and to
convert its central chilled water plant to electric chillers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.framingham.edu/presidents-office/documents/ClimateActionPlan2010.pdf|title=2010 Climate Action Plan|publisher=Framingham State University|access-date=2010-12-05|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101117100524/http://framingham.edu/presidents-office/documents/ClimateActionPlan2010.pdf|archive-date=2010-11-17}}</ref>

Framingham State University was named a "Green College" by the Princeton Review in 2010 and 2011. It was one of 22 schools in Massachusetts to receive the distinction, and one of 311 nationwide.<ref>{{cite web|title=Framingham State named 'Green College' by Princeton Review|url=http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x401818403/Framingham-State-named-Green-College-by-Princeton-Review|publisher=Metro West daily News|access-date=2 May 2011|archive-date=15 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615034549/http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x401818403/Framingham-State-named-Green-College-by-Princeton-Review|url-status=live}}</ref> It was named to the list again in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=Green Guide Full List of Schools by State|url=http://www.princetonreview.com/green-schools-by-state.aspx|publisher=The Princeton Review|access-date=17 May 2013|archive-date=30 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430011120/http://www.princetonreview.com/green-schools-by-state.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Organization==
[[File:Framingham st univ old textlogo.png|thumb|The old logo for Framingham State University used until May 2023]]
Framingham State University is led by an eleven-member Board of Trustees. The governor appoints nine trustees to five-year terms, renewable once. The Framingham State University Alumni Association elects one trustee for a single five-year term. Finally, the student body elects one student trustee for a one-year term. In addition to five full board meetings each year, which are open to the public, the board also meets in standing committees.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.framingham.edu/presidents-office/board-of-trustees/index.html|title=Board of Trustees|access-date=2010-12-05|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101214064955/https://www.framingham.edu/presidents-office/board-of-trustees/index.html|archive-date=2010-12-14}}</ref>

The university's annual budget is $105 million, and the school has 775 full and part-time employees.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.framingham.edu/presidents-office/about-the-president/index.html|title=About the President|access-date=2010-12-05|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101214064858/https://www.framingham.edu/presidents-office/about-the-president/index.html|archive-date=2010-12-14}}</ref> Framingham State University is [[Higher education accreditation in the United States|accredited]] by the [[New England Commission of Higher Education]].<ref>{{Citation|title=Massachusetts Institutions – NECHE|publisher=[[New England Commission of Higher Education]]|url=https://www.neche.org/institutions/ma/|access-date=May 26, 2021|archive-date=August 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817130729/https://www.neche.org/institutions/ma/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Student life==
{{Infobox US university ranking
| USNWR_REG = #103 (tied in North)
}}
{| class="wikitable floatright sortable collapsible"; text-align:right; font-size:80%;"
|+ style="font-size:90%" |Undergraduate demographics as of Fall 2023<ref>{{cite web |title= College Scorecard: Framingham State University|url=https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?165866-Framingham-State-University|website=College Scorecard |publisher=[[United States Department of Education]] |access-date=July 16, 2025 }}</ref>
|-
! Race and ethnicity
! colspan="2" data-sort-type=number |Total
|-
| [[Non-Hispanic whites|White]]
|align=right| {{bartable|53|%|2||background:cyan}}
|-
| [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic]]
|align=right| {{bartable|21|%|2||background:green}}
|-
| [[African Americans|Black]]
|align=right| {{bartable|17|%|2||background:purple}}
|-
| [[Multiracial Americans|Two or more races]]
|align=right| {{bartable|5|%|2||background:violet}}
|-
| [[Asian Americans|Asian]]
|align=right| {{bartable|3|%|2||background:orange}}
|-
| [[International student]]
|align=right| {{bartable|1|%|2||background:#008080}}
|-
! colspan="4" data-sort-type=number |[[Economic diversity]]
|-
| [[American lower class|Low-income]]{{efn|The percentage of students who received an income-based federal [[Pell grant]] intended for low-income students.}}
|align=right| {{bartable|38|%|2||background:red}}
|-
| [[Affluence in the United States|Affluent]]{{efn|The percentage of students who are a part of the [[American middle class]] at the bare minimum.}}
|align=right| {{bartable|62|%|2||background:black}}
|}

Framingham State University has an Office of Student Involvement and Leadership Development and a Center for Inclusive Excellence. It has a relatively small campus which sits on roughly {{convert|77|acre}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.framingham.edu/student-involvement-and-leadership-development/about-sild/index.html|title=About SILD|publisher=Framingham State University|access-date=2010-12-05|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101103084332/http://framingham.edu/student-involvement-and-leadership-development/about-sild/index.html|archive-date=2010-11-03}}</ref> Framingham State University also owns and operates a radio station [[WDJM-FM]] on 91.3 FM.

=== Enrollment ===
Total enrollment (Fall 2021): 4,495 total (3,213 undergraduate and 1,282 graduate students)<ref>{{cite web|last=Brown|first=Brittany|title=Common Data Set 2020–2021|url=https://www.framingham.edu/Assets/uploads/about-fsu/office-of-institutional-research/_documents/CDS_2020-2021.pdf|url-status=live|website=Framingham State University Office of Institutional Research|access-date=2021-10-04|archive-date=2021-10-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004223010/https://www.framingham.edu/Assets/uploads/about-fsu/office-of-institutional-research/_documents/CDS_2020-2021.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=Fall 2020|title=Fall 2020 Student Enrollment|url=https://www.framingham.edu/Assets/uploads/about-fsu/office-of-institutional-research/_documents/Fall%202020%20Student%20Enrollment_Final_Web.pdf|url-status=live|website=Framingham State University Office Of Institutional Enrollment|access-date=2021-10-04|archive-date=2021-10-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004223020/https://www.framingham.edu/Assets/uploads/about-fsu/office-of-institutional-research/_documents/Fall%202020%20Student%20Enrollment_Final_Web.pdf}}</ref>

* Men: 44% (1,398 students)
* Women: 56% (1,815 students)
* Commuters (degree seeking full-time undergraduates only): 53% (1,445 students)
* Residents (degree seeking full-time undergraduates only): 47% (1,279 students)

===Athletics===
{{Main|Framingham State Rams}}
Framingham State University fields 14 varsity athletic teams (6 men's, 8 women's) competing at the [[Division III (NCAA)|NCAA Division III]] level and 4 club athletic teams (1 men's, 2 women's, 1 co-ed) that compete in various leagues. The athletic teams are known as the [[Framingham State Rams]].

==Notable alumni==
*[[Anna Brackett]], nineteenth century philosopher, educator
*[[Sarah B. Capron]] evangelical missionary
*[[Olivia A. Davidson]], co-founder of [[Tuskegee Institute]] and wife of [[Booker T. Washington]]
*[[Lucie Caroline Hager]] (1853–1903), author
*[[Jennie Howard]], member of a pioneering group of educators who founded [[normal schools]] in Argentina
*[[Mary Swift Lamson]] and [[Sarah Wight]], teachers of [[Laura Bridgman]] at the [[Perkins Institute for the Blind]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-10-28 |title=FSU History – Part 1 |url=https://www.framingham.edu/academics/henry-whittemore-library/special-collections-archives/university-history/history-part1 |access-date=2023-05-19 |website=Blank |language=en}}</ref>
*[[Paul LeBlanc (college president)|Paul J. LeBlanc]], President of [[Southern New Hampshire University]]; former President of [[Marlboro College]]
*[[Christa McAuliffe]] (Class of 1970), astronaut, participant in [[Teacher in Space Project]], died in [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster]]. Center and memorial on campus in McAuliffe's honor.
*[[Brian J. Moran]], Chair of the [[Democratic Party of Virginia]]
*[[Joshua Onujiogu]], NFL linebacker
*[[Rebecca Pennell]], first woman college professor in the United States, and niece of [[Horace Mann]]
*[[Charlotte Champe Stearns]], mother of [[T. S. Eliot]].
*[[Richard Thompson (Maine politician)|Richard Thompson]], Member of the Maine House of Representatives
*[[Ruth Graves Wakefield]], inventor of the [[chocolate chip cookie]]
*[[Electa Nobles Lincoln Walton]] (1824–1908), educator, lecturer, writer, and suffragist
*[[Jacob Oliveira]], American politician serving as a member of the Massachusetts State Senate.

==Notes==
{{noteslist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons cat}}
* {{Official website}}
* [https://www.fsurams.com/ Athletics website]

{{Framingham State University}}
{{Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference navbox}}
{{Little East Conference navbox}}
{{Massachusetts Higher Education}}
{{Framingham, Massachusetts}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Framingham State University| ]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges established in 1839]]
[[Category:Framingham, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Public universities and colleges in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges in Middlesex County, Massachusetts]]