Fitchburg State College

:"This article is for the state college in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. For other uses see FSC (disambiguation)"

Infobox University
name =Fitchburg State College
native_name =
latin_name =


image_size =260px
motto =Perseverantia
established =1894
type =Public
endowment =$9.2 million
staff =
faculty =171 full-time
president =Dr. Robert V. Antonucci
principal =
rector =
chancellor =
vice_chancellor =
dean =
head_label =
head =
students = 5,201
undergrad = 3,522
postgrad = 1,679
doctoral =
city =Fitchburg
state =MA
country =USA
campus =Urban, 31.4 acres (0.13 km²) main campus
226.2 acres (0.92km²) total [ [http://www.fsc.edu/facilities/mainpages/interestingfacts.cfm Facilities - Interesting Facts ] ]
free_label =
free =
colors =Green color box|green and Gold color box|gold
colours =
mascot =Falcon
nickname =The Burg
affiliations =NCAA Division III, New England Football Conference
website =http://www.fsc.edu/
logo =
publictransit =Montachusett Regional Transit Authority, Wallace Civic Center

Fitchburg State College, also known as Fitchburg State, is a four year public institution of higher learning with a compact urban campus, located in the city of Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Fitchburg State College has over 3,500 undergraduate and over 1650 graduate/continuing education students, for a total student body enrollment over 5200. The College offers Postgraduate certificates, Bachelor's degrees, Master's degrees, and MBAs in more than 25 academic disciplines. The main campus, the McKay Campus School, and athletic fields comprise 79 acres (320,000 m²) in the city of Fitchburg; the biological study fields comprise 120 acres (490,000 m²) in the neighboring towns of Lancaster, Leominster, and Lunenburg.

History

. Its first President was John G. Thompson (President 1895-1920). Initially a secondary educational school for women (coeducation arrived in 1911), the Normal School was not authorized to grant Bachelor degrees until 1930, after the presidency of William D. Parkinson (President 1920-1927), and during Dr. Charles M. Herlihy's (President 1927-1945) tenure. In 1932, that authorization was extended to all academic disciplines within Education. At the same time, the name was changed to State Teachers College at Fitchburg. Dr. Charles M. Herlihy's died while in office and was followed by Dr. William J. Sanders (President 1945-1950) and Ellis F. White (President 1950-1953).

During Ralph H. Weston's (President 1953-1963) presidency of the college, the Education program was the primary focus. That changed in 1960, when the school changed its name to State College at Fitchburg and added degree programs outside of Education. In 1965, the College's name evolved into its present form, Fitchburg State College.James J. Hammond (President 1963-1975) and Dr. Vincent J. Mara (President1975-2003) were the next two presidents of the school and added many building to the compus, most notably what are now called the Hammond Building and Mara Village.

In the past 5 years, since Robert V. Antonucci(President 2003 - Present) became president, the college has focused on enhancing its buildings and grounds as well as its programs. The school has focused on renovations and rehabiliation of underutilized buildings and areas as opposed to extensive building, even though there has been some. One notable building currently under construction is the new 3,500 square foot Campus Police Station. [ http://www.fitchburgpride.com/news/2008/0829/front_page/002.html]

Continuing Education at Fitchburg State College began in 1915, with the first summer courses offered through the College. Twenty years later, its first graduate programs were established. [http://www.fsc.edu/aboutus/history/ Fitchburg State College - History of the College ] ]

Campus

The college originally housed students in buildings that are now surrounding the quad. The Hammond Center, which houses the library, many offices and the mail room rests on the site of a former dormitory, Palmer House.

Main Campus

* Alumni Development House: is the office building for the Alumni and Development office. It is also the headquarters for the Alumni Association.
* Anthony Building: when first built, the Anthony building was the industrial arts building. It now houses financial aid, financial services, and health services.
* Condike Science Building: houses science classrooms, laboratories and departmental offices, Condike has a 135-seat lecture hall.
* Conlon Building: is actually two buildings connected by an enclosed walkway. One building is home to the large communications /media and industrial technology departments, and also home to the schools Information Technology office. This section of the building also includes large video and film production resources, a large photography and graphic arts department, a metal shop, wood shop and theatrical scene shop. The other part contains a 280-seat lecture hall, the offices of the fine arts faculty, as well as art studios and classrooms.
* Dupont Facilities Building: houses the offices of Capital Planning and Maintenance.This building also houses a power plant which includes a green smokestack that rises 250 feet in the air.
* Edgerly Hall: is home to the computer science department. Also, its original use was as “an eighth-grade model and practice school,” which made it one of the first junior high schools in America.
* Hammond Campus Center/Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library: holds the library, the main campus center, mail room, and the commuter café. The third floor houses the student services center which includes the tutor center, math center, writing center, disability services, and counseling services , among many. There are also club offices and meeting rooms on the basement floor.
* Holmes Dining Commons: (often referred to as "Daka") is the main dining facility on campus. It spans North St, the main road through campus, and lets foot traffic easily move from one side of the street (near the three of the main residence halls) to the other (the quad and most academic buildings). In the summer of 2006, it had a 4 million dollar renovation.
* McKay Campus School: is an elementary school that Fitchburg State College uses as a laboratory school as well as a public school for the Fitchburg Public School District. It is also home to the education and geophysical science departments.
* Miller Hall: houses the offices of the English, speech, math, and social science departments and their faculty. Originally, it was the all woman’s residence hall on campus.
* Parkinson Gymnasium: Shut down after the new Recreation Center was opened in 2000, the Parkinson Gym was renovated and reopened in 2004. It now houses a Boys and Girls Club, the first in North Central Massachusetts.
* Percival Hall: is the home of the behavioral science department, and is where most of there classes are held. It also has a theater called Percival Auditorium inside, which seats about 400.
* Recreation Center: boasts three basketball courts, an Olympic size swimming pool, two racquetball courts, a dance studio, and a fully equipped exercise center. It is also home to the exercise and sport science department.
* Sanders Administration Building: is the administrative office building on campus. It houses many offices such as such as the President's Office, Admissions, Registrar, Academic Affairs, Graduate and Continuing Education, Student Affairs, Human Resources, Public Relations, and Cultural Affairs.
* Thompson Hall: The college's original building, built in 1896, is now primarily a classroom building. It is also home to the Nursing Department and its laboratories, including a 10 bed mock hospital. There are four tunnels that lead from the basement of the Thompson building outward to Miller Hall, Percival Hall, Edgerly Hall, and the Hammond Campus Center. When the Hammond Campus Center was built an existing tunnel that ran to the former Palmer House dormitory was made into a thoroughfare between the second level of the new building and the basement of Thompson Hall. Currently, all the tunnels (except the Hammond/Thompson) are closed and used only as access tunnels. [ [http://www.fsc.edu/facilities/thompson/thompfloorb.cfm Capital Planning & Maintenance - Thompson Hall - Basement Floor Plan ] ]
* Weston Auditorium: is the 800 seat home for most large performances at the school, including dance shows and band concerts, and the school’s cultural series, "Center Stage".
* Wallace Civic Center: is made up of two ice rinks and a planetarium. Fitchburg State College acquired the Civic Center in August 2007 from the city of Fitchburg [ [http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/seslaw07/sl070088.htm CHAPTER 88 OF THE ACTS OF 2007 ] ] . The planetarium fell into disrepair while being owned by the city and the college is working on making it usable again. [http://www.virtualtour.fsc.edu]

Residence Halls

The campus consists of 6 Residence Halls — [ [http://virtualtour.fsc.edu Tour ] ] [ [http://www.fsc.edu/campusliving/ Fitchburg State College - Housing and Residential Services ] ]
* Aubuchon Hall - This 11-story residence hall, which houses about 300 students, was opened in 1971. Each 16-room floor has a common living room area, laundry facilities, and a kitchenette. The rooms are set up suite style, with four suites of four rooms each per floor. The first floor features a full kitchen, lounge (with pool and ping pong tables, and study area. this building also houses the First Year Residential Experience (FYRE) program.
* Herlihy Hall - Herlihy is the smallest, and oldest, of the college's current residence halls, but has the largest rooms. It houses 150 students in a hotel style (one long corridor with rooms off this corridor).
* Mara Village - the newest of all the residence halls, built in 1989, Mara Village is actually a series of eight buildings. Seven of which house about 45 students each, and one that serves as a common building. Each suite, home to on average 8 people, is designed with double bedrooms, a living room, and bath. On December 5, 2007, the College tore down Highland house in preparation of the addition of 150 more beds,. This addition is to be opened in the Fall of 2009. [ The Point December 14, 2007 Issue No. 7 ]
* North Street Apartments [ [http://www.fsc.edu/campusliving/housingcost.html Housing and Residential Services - Housing Process - Housing Costs ] ] - The North Street Apartment building was acquired in the summer of 2007 and consists of 6 apartments. Each apartment has a living room area, bathroom and kitchen.
* Russell Towers - This 9 story building has 39 suites with six bedrooms in each suite. It is home to roughly 450.There are designed singles, double occupancy, and triple occupancy rooms in this building.
* Townhouse Apartments - This residence hall is usually reserved for upperclassmen due to the fact that each of the 33 townhouse apartments is equipped with a combination living room/kitchen area, one and a half baths and individual bedrooms for each student.

Dining Facilities

There are three dining facilities on campus:
* Holmes Dining Commons: (often referred to as "Daka") is the main dining facility on campus, and is run by the foodservice Chartwells. It is set up buffet style and serves three meals a day on weekdays and two meals on weekends. In the summer of 2006, it had a 4 million dollar renovation.
* The Commuter Cafe': The Commuter Cafe' is located on the bottom floor of the Hammond building and is also run by Chartwells. It includes a Burger King, Mama Leon's Pizza, Au Bon Pain soups, Seattle's Best Coffee, and Edy's ice cream. It is open until 10 pm on most nights.
*McKay Cafe' : is a small cafe' housed in the McKay Campus School. It serves drinks, pastries, soups, and sandwiches.

Library

The Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library houses over 1 million books, rolls of microfiche, journals, and periodicals, spread out over 4 floors. It also has an extensive collection of children's and young adults books.

The Library houses many special collections from notable alumni, faculty and local residents [ [http://www.fsc.edu/library/archives/index.cfm Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library: Archives & Special Collections] ] . These special collections include works from Robert Cormier, well known Author for young adults, and R. A. Salvatore, A prolific fantasy writer, well known for his Forgotten Realms Novels and The DemonWars Saga. There are also works by Richard Kent, former music teacher for whom Kent Recital Hall was named, Ernst Fandreyer's Translation of Gauss' Proof, works by William Wolkovich-Valkavicius, as well as papers by John Ellis Van Courtland Moon, former Professor of History.

Transportation

Transportation around Fitchburg State College's campus is usually accomplished through walking. Also, there is a shuttle bus that goes from the Wallace Civic Center, through campus, and then to the MBTA Commuter Rail stop. The loop takes about 15 minutes. [ [http://www.fsc.edu/campuspolice/shuttlebus.html Campus Police - Shuttle Bus Service ] ]

The MBTA Commuter Rail stop closest to the college is the Fitchburg stop on the Fitchburg Line. The line ends at North Station and is about an hour and a half ride. It is wheelchair accessible and a short walk from campus. [ [http://mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/rail/lines/?route=FITCHBRG MBTA schedual] ]

A new addition to transportation on and off campus is the collaboration between the school and the Montachusett Regional Transit Authority(MART). Faculity, staff and students can ride any of the bus routes in Fitchburg or Leominster free of charge. [ [http://web.fsc.edu/fscnews/index.cfm?detail=488 Fitchburg State College - Public Relations - News ] ]

Academics

Rankings and Accreditations

Fitchburg State College is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education, the Council for Standards in Human Service Education, and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.

Individual programs have been accredited by the Massachusetts Department of Education, the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification, the Interstate Certification Compact of Educational Personnel, the State Board of Registration in Nursing, the Board of Higher Education, and the Commonwealth Honors Program. [2007 Fitchburg State College Viewbook, page 22 ]

U.S. News and World Report ranked Fitchburg State College as a Universities–Master's (North) school, third tier (highest ranked ) [ [http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/directory/brief/drglance_2184_brief.php USNews.com: America's Best Colleges 2008: Fitchburg State College: At a glance ] ]

Majors and Concentrations

Fitchburg State College offers 56 Undergraduate Majors and Concentrations [2007 Fitchburg State College Viewbook, page 5] . They include:

Media

Fitchburg State has many student-run media outlets. The two largest are the student-run newspaper, The Point, [http://falcon.fsc.edu/thepoint/] and the student-run radio station, WXPL (91.3 FM). [http://falcon.fsc.edu/~wxpl/]

Greek life

FSC is home to two fraternities and three sororities. Approximately 4-5% of undergraduate students are affiliated with fraternities and sororities recognized by the College.

Notable Alumni

* Paul Coyne, Emmy-nominated producer/editor (Survivor, The Amazing Race, Big Brother, American Inventor).
* Jonathan Egstad, Oscar-winning special effects creator
* Jennifer L. Flanagan, (M.S.), member of the Mass. House of Representatives ("served" 2004 - "present")
* Bert Jacobs, co-founder of Life is Good, Inc.
* Patrick O'Brien Demsey, Actor Miracle
* R. A. Salvatore, A prolific fantasy writer, well known for his Forgotten Realms Novels and The DemonWars books.
*Peter H. Reynolds, famous author, illustrator, and co-creator of Fablevision

References

External links

* [http://www.fsc.edu/ FSC Homepage]
* [http://www.fsc.edu/publicrel/fsctoday/ Fitchburg State Today newsletter]
* [http://www.virtualtour.fsc.edu FSC Virtual Tour]
* [http://www.fsc.edu/library/archives/index.cfm Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library: Archives & Special Collections]