Timeline - Becker College

Timeline: A Look Back

1784

Leicester Academy is founded.
1788

Eli Whitney, inventor of the cotton gin, graduates.
1836

William Morton, the “Father of Modern Anesthesiology,” graduates.
1880

First perfect game in major league baseball is pitched at the Worcester Agricultural Fairgrounds--now the Weller Academic Center quad on the Worcester Campus.
1886

Elliott P. Joslin, the first doctor in the United States to specialize in diabetes and the founder of today’s Joslin Diabetes Center, graduates.
1887

Becker’s Business College is founded at 492 Main St., Worcester, Mass.
1893

Harry G. Stoddard, Worcester industrialist, graduates.
1926

Becker’s Business College changes its name to Becker College of Business Administration and Secretarial Science.
1936

Colton House on Cedar St. in Worcester opens as the College's first dormitory for women.
1937

Becker initiates a major in journalism--the first to be offered in the East.
1937

Becker establishes its student newspaper, The Becker Journal.
1941

Leicester Junior College is established.
1943

Becker School of Business Administration and Secretarial Science changes its name to Becker Junior College of Business Administration and Secretarial Science, and receives the authority to grant associate in science degrees.
1950

Becker introduces its retail merchandising program, the first in Massachusetts.
1958

Senator John F. Kennedy visits campus to address a Becker assembly.
1963

The Paul R. Swan Library is dedicated on the Leicester Campus.
1968

The Borger Academic Center is dedicated on the Leicester Campus.
1974

Cooperative Education is first offered.
1977

Becker Junior College of Business Administration and Secretarial Science and Leicester Junior College merge.
1978

The associate in science in veterinary technology, the first in Massachusetts, is accredited.
1980

Becker College properties in Worcester are added to the National Register of Historic Places.
1982

The Animal Health Care Center opens on the Leicester Campus.
1986

The Gilbert R. Boutin Student Center is dedicated on the Worcester Campus.
1990

Becker Junior College of Business Administration and Secretarial Science changes its name to Becker College, with continued authority to grant associate in science degrees.
1990

The William F. Ruska Library is dedicated on the Worcester Campus.
1991

Becker College receives authority to grant bachelor of science and bachelor of arts degrees.
1992

A student center is constructed on the Leicester Campus.
1997

The Lenfest Family Animal Health Clinic is dedicated.
2000

The Arnold C. Weller, Jr. Academic Center is dedicated on the Worcester Campus.
2006

Becker College properties in Leicester are added to the National Register of Historic Places.
2008

Barrett Hall, a residence hall on the Leicester Campus, is dedicated in honor of Colleen Barrett ’64.
2008

Rev. Samuel May, Jr. House is authenticated as an official National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom site by the National Park Service.
2008

Becker College marks 20 years of criminal justice education.
2009

Becker College initiates the Franklin M. Loew Lecture Series in honor of the College’s eighth president.
2009

The Becker College nursing program celebrates “25 Years of Caring.”
2010

The Princeton Review ranks the Becker College undergraduate video game design program #1 in New England and #4 in the United States and Canada.
2010

Robert E. Johnson, Ph.D., is named tenth president of Becker College.
2011

Gov. Deval Patrick and Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray approve the designation of Becker College as host of the Massachusetts Digital Games Institute (Mass DiGI).
2011

Becker College receives a $1.5 million grant from the Allerton Foundation to establish an endowed chair, the Allerton Chair of Animal Health Sciences
2012

Becker College is selected by The Princeton Review as one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education and is included in its The Best 377 Colleges: 2013 Edition.
2012

The Becker College game design program is ranked among the top-10 colleges in the U.S. and Canada by The Princeton Review.
2012

The bachelor of science in nursing program is launched.
2012

Becker is #1 among undergraduate nursing programs in Massachusetts, with a 99% prelicensure nursing graduates' first-time NCLEX pass rate in 2011.
2012

The new Student Center opens on the Leicester Campus (fall 2012).