Westfield State University

Westfield State University

Westfield State University Logo
Former names	Westfield Normal School Westfield State Teachers College Westfield College
Type	Public
Established	December 28, 1838
Endowment	$6,201,245 (2014)
President	Ramon Torrecilha
Students	5,500 (total enrollment)
Undergraduates	4,900
Address	577 Western Avenue, Westfield, MA, Westfield, Massachusetts, United States of America 42°07′53″N 72°47′46″W / 42.131392°N 72.796005°W / 42.131392; -72.796005Coordinates: 42°07′53″N 72°47′46″W / 42.131392°N 72.796005°W / 42.131392; -72.796005
Campus	Residential
Colors	Blue, White and Gold
Nickname	Owls
Mascot	Nestor
Website	westfield.ma.edu

Westfield State University (also known as Westfield State and formerly known as Westfield Normal School, Westfield State Teachers College, and Westfield College) is a comprehensive, coeducational, four-year public university in Westfield, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1838 by noted educator and social reformer Horace Mann as the first public co-educational college in America without barrier to race, gender, or economic class.

Westfield State is located 45 miles (72 km) from Hartford, and 90 miles (140 km) from Boston, both of which have international airports. The nearest bus and train station is in Springfield. Approximately 50% of students have a car on campus. There are 13 other colleges and universities in proximity to the campus.

Westfield State University’s main 256-acre (1.04 km²) campus is located in a suburban neighborhood along Western Avenue and accessible via the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority bus system, which is free to on-campus residents.

The Main Campus is known for its centralized large campus green, tall pines, flowering trees, and seasonal landscaping. Nine residential halls, five academic buildings, one dining hall, an interfaith center, a power plant, the campus center and library encircle the green, where intramural sports and recreational activities are common.

Adjacent to Overlook Drive is the Woodward Center (athletic facilities) and The Horace Mann Center (administrative and academic space). Across from the Horace Mann Center is the 300-acre (1.2 km²) Stanley Park, which offers many points of interest including a duck pond, rose gardens, soccer and lacrosse fields, hiking trails, a picnic area, and a wildlife sanctuary to name a few. The park also offers wireless internet access and is often used by the students.

As a major initiative, the university has begun establishing a presence in downtown Westfield that is a five-minute drive from the campus. Lansdowne Place is now housing upperclassmen at 38 Thomas Street and the Westfield State University Downtown Art Gallery has featured a variety of art exhibitions, since opening in the fall of 2008.

Westfield State University has a long and distinguished history that reflects the history of education in America. Retired WSU history professor, Robert T. Brown, wrote the first scholarly history of the Westfield Normal School, 1839-1914. "The Rise and Fall of the People’s Colleges" was published in 1988 by the Institute for Massachusetts Studies in Westfield. The following information is adapted from Brown’s work.

In Colonial America, school children would often spend more time working on their family farms than in the classrooms. When they did go to school, they were taught by very young schoolmasters, who were not well-educated. Religious leaders argued that nothing could be done to improve schools until a better class of teachers were available and until teaching had become a profession like that of the ministry or medicine. There also had to be a distinct way of training them.