Westfield State University (commonly known asWestfield State) is apublic university inWestfield, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded in 1839 byHorace Mann as the first public coeducational college in America.
In 1839, Horace Mann founded a state normal school inBarre, Massachusetts. It offered entry regardless of race, gender, or economic class. Samuel P. Newman, a professor and administrator atBowdoin College, was the school's first principal.[6] It was the secondnormal school in Massachusetts after theLexington Normal School, which was founded earlier in the year.[7] The Barre Normal School was suspended following Newman's death and moved to Westfield in 1844, where it became the Westfield Normal School. Rev. Emerson Davis, head of the Westfield Academy was placed in charge of the new school.[8] The Westfield Normal School was later known as Westfield State Teachers College. In 1960, GovernorFoster Furcolo signed a bill that would transition the state's nine teachers colleges, including Westfield State, into general state colleges and Westfield State Teachers College became Westfield State College the following year.[9] The institution adopted its current name in 2010 as part of a statewide change.[10]
In 2013, WSU was ranked fourth nationally byUS News in their Best Online Programs Honor Roll.[14] WSU was also ranked first in the country for "Faculty Credentials & Training" and eleventh in "Student Services & Technology".[14]
