The story
History
The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth traces its roots to 1895 when the Massachusetts legislature chartered the New Bedford Textile School in New Bedford and the Bradford Durfee Textile School in Fall River. The New Bedford Textile School was renamed the "New Bedford Institute of Textiles and Technology", and the Bradford Durfee Textile School was renamed the "Bradford Durfee College of Technology".
In 1962, the two schools were combined to create the "Southeastern Massachusetts Technological Institute", expanding to become "Southeastern Massachusetts University" by 1969.
The university sits on a 710-acre site acquired in the early 1960s. In 1964, the ground was broken on a unified campus not far from the Smith Mills section of Dartmouth between the two cities of New Bedford and Fall River. The Liberal Arts building was completed in 1966, the Science & Engineering building in 1969, and the other original buildings were finished by 1971. The main campus has been expanded several times, including the Cedar Dell residences (begun in 1987), the Dion Science & Engineering Building in 1989, the Charlton College of Business in 2004, the new apartment-style residence halls in 2005, and the Research Building in 2007.
In 1991, SMU joined the UMass system and adopted its present name, the "University of Massachusetts Dartmouth". Since then, the university has expanded back into its original cities as well, with the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, formerly Advanced Textiles & Manufacturing Center, (2001, at the former Kerr Mill site in Fall River) and Professional and Continuing Education Center (2002, in the former Cherry & Webb building in Fall River), and the School for Marine Science and Technology (1996, adjacent to Fort Rodman in New Bedford), the Star Store visual arts building in New Bedford (2001) and a second Center for Professional and Continuing Education (2002, one block north on Purchase Street) in New Bedford.
Billionaire Robert T. Hale spoke at the May 2024 commencement ceremony, surprising graduating students by giving each of them $1,000 in cash onstage, asking that they keep half and donate the other half.
General information
On-campus living provides three different residence options:
Traditional Residence Halls
Apartments
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Townhouses
Each hall is staffed by a professional Resident Director, and 8–14 student Resident Assistants. Each Hall also features a Hall Council which plans events, holds elections, and engages with the larger residential population through Resident Student Association (a student-government organization for all residential students).
From Wikipedia’s article on University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4