Suffolk history

Suffolk Universitywww.suffolk.edu

A Brief Look at the People and

Traditions at Suffolk University.

Making Suffolk the School with a Heart:Gleason L. Archer, Sr.- President and Founder (42 years)

Dottie “Mac” McNamara- Bursar and Alumni Director (47 years)

Coach Jim Nelson- Athletic Director (45 years)

Jeanne Hession- 1956 SULS Alumna and 1st Female Trustee 1973

AthleticsHiram the Ram: 1950 – Hiram the “Ram” is celebrated as the new mascot, previous mascots included the “Royals” and the “Judges” To highlight the new mascot, the Suffolk Journal is renamed the “Rambler” for a year.

1938 – Men’s Tennis becomes the University’s first athletics team.

Prominent Alumni

Joe Moakley- 1956US Congressman 1973-2001

Paul Benedict- 1960 Actor: ‘The Jeffersons’, ‘The Man with Two brains’, ‘Spinal Tap’

From Humble Beginnings6 Alpine Street:1906 – Suffolk University is founded when Gleason Archer opens a law school in his living room.

Archer Building

Campus Expansion 1960s-1980s

Donahue Building: 1966

Ridgeway Lane: Construction, 1977

Sawyer Building: 1981

Campus Expansion 1990s-2000s

Sargent Hall: 1999

150 Tremont Street: 1st residence hall for 435 students, 1996

NESAD: Joins Suffolk University, 1996

Ridgeway Building: 1991

Science Classrooms: Then and Now

Left: Friedman Field Station at Cobscook Bay (ME), 1976

Left: Chemistry Lab, 1941Below: Chemistry Lab, c. 1980s

Student Life and TraditionsSuffolk Journal and Suffolk Players 1936 – The Suffolk Journal and Suffolk Players are established; shaping the beginning of student life at the new College of Liberal Arts.

1948 – The first issue of the Beacon Yearbook is published.

Student Life and Traditions

Formal attire

A women’s lounge

Student Life and TraditionsHobo Dance: 1949

Miss Suffolk: 1966

Commencement: 1995

Student Life and TraditionsBeanie: Incoming freshman receive and wear a beanie

Other Highlights• 1913 – Suffolk graduates its first African-American student Thaddeus Kitchner.

• 1933 – Suffolk enrolls its first female, Marian Archer MacDonald, who graduates in 1937.

• 1934 – Suffolk College of Liberal Arts, now the College of Arts and Sciences is founded.

• 1937 – College of Business Administration, now the Sawyer Business School is founded.

• 1937 – The College Debating Society becomes the University’s first recognized student organization.

• 1946 – Student Government for the Colleges is recognized.

• 1952 – Suffolk University charters its first academic honorary society Phi Beta Chi (science).

• 1961 – Suffolk University institutes an “activities period” to encourage student involvement.

• 1974 – WSUB begins producing and broadcasting student productions; residence halls get a channel in 2003.

• 1976 – WSFR is established as a closed circuit radio station; it expands to internet broadcasting in 2001.

• 1980 – SGA established Program Council to concentrate on planning campus social events.

• 1989 – David J. Sargent is appointed Suffolk’s 8th President and its first alumni to hold that position.

• 1995 – University’s first international campus opens in Madrid, Spain.

• 2006 – Suffolk University celebrates its Centennial and opens the Sawyer Library at the Stahl Center