UMass Dartmouth history

2, built in 1897 when the American Thread Co. acquired the complex; and No.

1899 First building for the New Bedford Textile School is constructed.

1902 Swain School's trustees redefine its mission as a School of Design.

1904 The city of Fall River raises $35,000 towards construction of Bradford Durfee's first building.

Interior of the Bradford Durfee Textile School in Fall River, Massachusetts Machine Shop, 1914

Opened in 1929 and containing some 7000 objects, the museum opens a window on histories of collecting and museum making, as well as American material culture.

1946 Bradford Durfee Textile School changes its name to Bradford Durfee Technical Institute to reflect more general degree offerings.

1947 New Bedford Textile School changes its name to New Bedford Institute of Technology (NBIT), reflecting the shift in focus towards more generalized business and engineering degrees.

1957 Bradford Durfee Technical Institute changes its name to Bradford Durfee College of Technology, to distinguish itself as a college granting 4-year degrees.

In 1960, the state legislature created Southeastern Massachusetts Technological Institute (SMTI) by merging the New Bedford Institute of Technology and the Bradford Durfee College of Technology.

1962 The Massachusetts state legislature creates Southeastern Massachusetts Technological Institute (SMTI) by merging the New Bedford Institute of Technology and Bradford Durfee College of Technology.

The 710 acre campus in North Dartmouth, part way between New Bedford and Fall River, was established in 1964.

1967 Construction on the Textile Technology Building begins in April.

1968 Construction on the Administration Building and the Campus Center begins in October.

1979 The Research Building is renamed Violette Building on June 3rd.

1984 Doctor John Russell Brazil becomes the President of SMU (and subsequently serves as the first Chancellor of UMass Dartmouth).

On January 12, 1987, a catastrophic fire hit the Kerr Mill complex on Martine Street, reducing the historic building to rubble.

Cedar Dell townhouse, opened 1988

In 1991, a new University of Massachusetts structure combined the Amherst, Boston, and Worcester campuses with Southeastern Massachusetts University and the University of Lowell (now UMass Lowell). Thus Southeastern Massachusetts University became the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

1993 Doctor Peter H. Cressy becomes Chancellor of UMass Dartmouth.

In 1994, UMass Dartmouth received approval to offer its first PhD degree, in Electrical Engineering, and began to offer a number of joint doctoral programs with other UMass campuses.

School for Marine Science and Technology, opened 1997

1999 Jean F. MacCormack becomes Chancellor of UMass Dartmouth.

In 2002, the university opened the Professional and Continuing Education Center in Fall River in the fully renovated Cherry and Webb building.

Mass History Alliance: In 2005, after over a century of service, the Bay State Historical League–an umbrella organization serving the Commonwealth’s history organizations-–closed its doors.

2007 Research Building opens

Humanities Action Lab: UMass Public History was a founding member of the HAL collaborative, contributing a panel and programming to the 2009 Guantanamo Public Memory Project.

2010 School of Law Established

2012 Doctor Divina Grossman, Founding Vice President for Engagement at Florida International University, becomes Chancellor, succeeding Jean MacCormack.

In 2013, UMass Public History student Jon Haeber was awarded the 2013 Preservation Award from the Holyoke Historical Commission for his blingual (English and Spanish) walking tour app of the city, an outgrowth of a field service project in Professor Olsen's Digital History course.

Most recently, in 2014, students designed a new website for the museum, which included several small online exhibits drawing on its rich collection as well as oral history interviews with members of the local farming community conducted by the students.

October 23, 2015 The Advanced Technology Manufacturing Center (ATMC) become the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) and is expanding its outreach to southeastern Massachusetts entrepreneurs, including the faculty and students at UMass Dartmouth.

Mark Twain House: In Fall 2020, students in the Public History Program contributed to the planning of museum education programs while investigating the labor and economy of the nineteenth-century Connecticut Valley.

Colonial Society of Massachusetts: In fall 2021 students in Doctor Sam Redman’s Theory and Method of Oral History course worked with the Colonial Society of Massachusetts to conduct twelve oral history interviews.