[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 18]
[Senate]
[Pages 25657-25658]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



   CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY'S 150TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

 Mr. DODD. Mr. President, it gives me great pleasure to rise 
today to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the founding the Central 
Connecticut State University. To stand the test of time, as Central 
has, an educational institution must respond to the educational needs 
of its students. At each turn over its notable 150-year history, 
Central has effectively positioned itself to address the new challenges 
of the day. While a great deal has changed at Central--and for that 
matter in the world--over the years, the school's primary concern and 
motivating goal--educating students--has remained unaltered.
  Central Connecticut State University is Connecticut's oldest 
publicly-supported institution of higher learning and enjoys a rich and 
colorful legacy. Founded by order of the Connecticut State Legislature 
on June 22, 1849, the institution, first known as the Normal School, 
was a two-year teacher training facility. On May 15, 1850, Henry 
Barnard, the school's first ``principal,'' as he was then called, and a 
handful of faculty and staff members welcomed the first class of 30 
students.
  The Normal School was the object of contentious political debate in 
Hartford and intermittent appropriation cuts during its early years. In 
fact, the school was closed from 1867 to 1869 due to lack of funding. 
Yet the school and its supporters persevered. Each passing year brought 
bigger classes to the Normal School and with them, greater support from 
the members of the citizenry who understood the vital importance of 
higher education to their future and the future of the state. As was 
common at many of the era's institutions of

[[Page 25658]]

higher learning, the Normal School's student body was overwhelmingly 
unbalanced in its male to female ratio. Interestingly, however, at the 
Normal School women, not men, made up the majority of the student body 
through the late 19th Century. In fact, due to the social norms of the 
time, which held the teaching of elementary and grade-school children 
as women's work, men disappeared from the student body at the Normal 
School for over thirty years--a change that would forever influence the 
character of the institution. The loss of male students did not stop 
the expansion of Normal School. Growing beyond the confines of its 
original building at the corner of Chestnut and Main in New Britain, in 
1922 the school moved to the spacious campus it now occupies in the 
Belvedere section of New Britain.
  The institution began to blossom academically in 1933 when it started 
to offer four-year baccalaureate degrees, changing its name to the 
Teachers College of Connecticut. The expansion of academic offerings 
drew men back to the college during the 1930s. Following World War II, 
the Teachers College of Connecticut, like many academic institutions, 
experienced remarkable growth and expansion. That growth led the State 
Legislature to grant the college the right to confer liberal arts 
degrees and to rename the institution the Central Connecticut State 
College in 1959. As the needs of its students have continued to change 
and expand in more recent times, so too has Central. In 1983, Central 
began offering graduate degrees and evolved into its present form--
Central Connecticut State University.
  With an enrollment of nearly 12,000 graduate and undergraduate 
students, Central is the largest of the four Universities within the 
Connecticut State System. With 80 programs of study, 38 departments and 
5 individual schools dedicated to disciplines across the spectrum of 
learning, Central Connecticut State University has emerged as one of 
the premier regional universities in New England.
  Always on the forefront of educational trends, Central recognized the 
lack of emphasis placed on the historical role of women and drew upon 
the significant role played by women in its own development to become 
one of the first schools in the Nation to build, in 1977, a Women's 
Center. The Center, which has become a highly respected credit to the 
university, offers a number of services for and about women and has 
become a model for universities around the country. In 1990, Central 
became the first school in Connecticut to offer an accredited Computer 
Science degree, helping to prepare Connecticut students for the 
Information Age. Its Robert C. Vance Distinguished Lecturer Program has 
drawn United States Presidents and renowned leaders from around the 
globe to speak in New Britain. It is clear, that through these special 
programs, as well as others, Central Connecticut State University 
provides its students with a valuable educational opportunity and has 
established itself as one of the Nation's finest regional universities.
  So I say again, Mr. President, that I am proud to stand on the floor 
of the United States Senate to recognize the enduring dedication of 
Central Connecticut State University to its students, to its state, and 
to excellence in education. Today, under the adept guidance of 
President Richard L. Judd and with the effort of so many talented and 
committed faculty and staff, the university continues to grow and 
prosper. I believe that Central's unceasing pursuit of excellence will 
ensure it remains a vital academic institution for many years to 
come.

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