page_title: University of Massachusetts Amherst
section_title: Foundation and early years
hierarchical_section_title: University of Massachusetts Amherst / History / Foundation and early years
caption_attribution_description: English: Panorama of Massachusetts Agricultural College. Identifier: bulletin08univ Title: Bulletin Year: 1909 (1900s) Authors: University of Massachusetts at Amherst Subjects: University of Massachusetts at Amherst Publisher: Amherst, Mass Contributing Library: UMass Amherst Libraries Digitizing Sponsor: Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries View Book Page: Book Viewer About This Book: Catalog Entry View All Images: All Images From Book Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book. Text Appearing Before Image: t Growing,Market Gardening, Floriculture, and Forestry; (5) WomensSection, Home Economics; (6) Farmers Business Organizations;(7) Beekeeping. Features of the week are the evening lectures by specialistsalong agricultural lines, the practical demonstrations of ap-proved methods in agriculture and home economics, the milk,cream and butter exhibit, the corn and potato shows, the com-mercial exhibits and agricultural motion pictures. Exceptionally good examples of the dairy breeds of cattleand of draft horses are used during this week and a parade oflivestock is arranged. There are exhibits of poultry feeds, various types of housesand poultry house equipment. The incubators and broodersare running to their fullest capacity at this time of year andguides are furnished to conduct visitors about the poultry plant. The Annual Beekeepers Convention, March 27 to 29, isalso a feature of the week. Illustrated lectures, practicaldemonstrations and commercial displays are features of theconvention. Text Appearing After Image: BIRDS-EYE VIEW OF CAMPUS [22] The M. A. C. Short Course Association and other organiza-tions hold their annual meetings at the college this week. The complete program will be published about February 1.Apply to the Supervisor of Short Courses. POLISH FARMERS DAY March 22, 1917 A special day is set aside in March of each year which isknown as Polish Farmers Day. There are hundreds of Polishfarmers in the Connecticut Valley and this day represents aspecial effort on the part of the college to be of service to them.Instruction is given relative to the crops and animals in whichthese people are most interested, soil fertility problems, co-operation, American citizenship, Polish and American history,€tc. The services of an interpreter make the days exercises ofadded interest and value. SCHOOL FOR BEEKEEPERS Date to be announced This itinerant school is held in Amherst once in three yearsand extension schools are planned for different sections of thestate during the intervening years. It Note About Images Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.
context_page_description: The University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system. UMass Amherst has an annual enrollment of approximately 1,300 faculty members and more than 30,000 students. The university offers academic degrees in 109 undergraduate, 77 master's and 48 doctoral programs. Programs are coordinated in nine schools and colleges. It is also a member of the Five College Consortium.
  The University of Massachusetts Amherst is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". According to the National Science Foundation, UMass spent $211 million on research and development in 2018, ranking it 111th in the nation.
  UMass Amherst alumni and affiliates include 4 Nobel Prize laureates, 1 National Humanities Medal winner, numerous Fulbright, Goldwater, Churchill, Truman and Gates Scholars as well as several Pulitzer Prize recipients and Grammy, Emmy, and Academy Award winners. Massachusetts athletic teams compete in NCAA Division I and are collectively known as the Minutemen and Minutewomen.
context_section_description: The university was founded in 1863 under the provisions of the Federal Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act to provide instruction to Massachusetts citizens in "agricultural, mechanical, and military arts." Accordingly, the university was initially named the Massachusetts Agricultural College, popularly referred to as "Mass Aggie" or "M.A.C."  In 1867, the college had yet to admit any students, been through two Presidents, and had still not completed any college buildings.  In that year, William S. Clark was appointed President of the college and Professor of Botany.  He quickly appointed a faculty, completed the construction plan, and, in the fall of 1867, admitted the first class of approximately 50 students.  Clark became the first president to serve longterm after the schools opening and is often regarded the primary founding father of the college. Of the school's founding figures, there are a traditional "founding four"- Clark, Levi Stockbridge, Charles Goessmann, and Henry Goodell, described as "the botanist, the
  farmer, the chemist, [and] the man of letters."
  The original buildings consisted of Old South College (a dormitory located on the site of the present South College), North College (a second dormitory once located just south of today's Machmer Hall), the Chemistry Laboratory, also known as College Hall (once located on the present site of Machmer Hall), the Boarding House (a small dining hall located just north of the present Campus Parking Garage), the Botanic Museum (located on the north side of the intersection of Stockbridge Road and Chancellor's Hill Drive) and the Durfee Plant House (located on the site of the new Durfee Conservatory).
  Although enrollment was slow during the 1870s, the fledgling college built momentum under the leadership of President Henry Hill Goodell.  In the 1880s, Goodell implemented an expansion plan, adding the College Drill Hall in 1883 (the first gymnasium), the Old Chapel Library in 1885 (one of the oldest extant buildings on campus and an important symbol of the University), and the East and West Experiment Stations in 1886 and 1890.  The Campus Pond, now the central focus of the University Campus, was created in 1893 by damming a small brook. 
  The early 20th century saw great expansion in terms of enrollment and the scope of the curriculum.  The first female student was admitted in 1875 on a part-time basis and the first full-time female student was admitted in 1892. In 1903, Draper Hall was constructed for the dual purpose of a dining hall and female housing.  The first female students graduated with the class of 1905.  The first dedicated female dormitory, the Abigail Adams House (on the site of today's Lederle Tower) was built in 1920.
  By the start of the 20th century, the college was thriving and quickly expanded its curriculum to include the liberal arts.  The Education curriculum was established in 1907. In recognition of the higher enrollment and broader curriculum, the college was renamed Massachusetts State College in 1931.
  Following World War II, the G.I. Bill, facilitating financial aid for veterans, led to an explosion of applicants.  The college population soared and Presidents Hugh Potter Baker and Ralph Van Meter labored to push through major construction projects in the 1940s and 1950s, particularly with regard to dormitories (now Northeast and Central Residential Areas).  Accordingly, the name of the college was changed in 1947 to the "University of Massachusetts."
caption: Panoramic view of campus, 1916; in the foreground at the left is the Apiary Laboratory, Fernald Hall, the Old Chapel, and Clark Hall, in the distance to the right can be seen French Hall and Stockbridge Hall
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