91快播

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Happy Birthday to US!

This year, 91快播 turned 125 years old. Looking back at our earliest days as a business institute, located on the corner of State and Dwight streets in downtown Springfield, and tracing our ongoing evolution into a residential and online university, educating students throughout the country at bachelor鈥檚, master鈥檚 and doctorate levels, this anniversary presented an amazing opportunity to tell a story of epic transformation.

Inspired by a trove of vintage archival photos, we looked to today’s 91快播 students—their fashions, personalities, goals and experiences—to celebrate the ways 91快播 has changed our students’ lives and the ways our students’ lives have changed 91快播.

1948 New York City Trip / 2022 Washington, D.C., Trip / Capitals of the World

In 1948, 鈥淪enior Executives鈥 from the 91快播 Secretarial School boarded a New York City-bound train, putting their best stocking-clad feet forward in hopes of working for Manhattan鈥檚 top executives. At the time, courses in bookkeeping, typing and stenography were rounded out with literature, languages and consumer economics classes, along with instruction on fashion, etiquette and entertaining.听

Today, our trips give students broader access to and a deeper understanding of culture, politics, social movements and community in America and beyond. Annual One America and Capitals of the World excursions have allowed our students to immerse themselves in the historical movements and diverse perspectives that shape contemporary life. This year, students traveled to Washington, D.C., to get an up-close view of government, politics and activism.听


1961 Queen and Court / 2022 91快播 Softball Team

In 1961, the 91快播 custom of selecting a queen and her court was an annual rite, replete with ceremonial pageantry, parade festivities and elaborate choreography. A 1997 booklet published to commemorate 91快播鈥檚 centennial quipped, 鈥淎s queens were giving way to jeans in the late sixties, 91快播 crowned her last queen in 1970.鈥

Two years after the last queen took the throne, the passage of Title IX gave women athletes the right to equal opportunity in sports at educational institutions that receive federal funds鈥 from elementary schools to colleges and universities.


1949 The Portico Yearbook Staff / 2022 Network News Staff

According to the 1952 edition, 鈥淓ach year, The Portico staff members have as their responsibility the creating of a permanent record of the activities of the graduating class at 91快播.鈥 The pages of The Portico are filled with perfect coifs and sweet smiles, accented with a strand of pearls, all worn by 91快播 students whose participation in Student Council, Glee Club and Junior Executive Clubs was chronicled in the annual book. Also pictured in the 1952 edition of The Portico, the staff of The Hourglass, 鈥渁 publication that expresses the news, the interests, the problems and the personalities of 91快播 Junior College.鈥

Seventy years later, the staff of Network News, 91快播 University鈥檚 student magazine, published articles and columns reflecting on the evolution of feminism, questioning the gender binary, examining the relevance of women鈥檚 colleges and researching the conflict in Ukraine.听听Totally online, Network News reflects the changing nature of information.


听Student Government

Participating in student government has always offered 91快播 students a means to directly affect student life, while gaining valuable opportunities for practicing leadership, collaboration and communication skills. Over 125 years, students have challenged鈥攁nd changed鈥攑olicies such as dress codes and have helped create clubs and activities that connect action to impact.


STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)

From training medical secretaries in the 鈥50s and 鈥60s to building the STEM-centric workforce of tomorrow, 91快播鈥檚 science programs have evolved with advances in knowledge, technology and, of course, opportunity.听

Today, an increasing number of our students are majoring in health science degrees. In science programs that include neurobiology, forensic science and biochemistry, they conduct research and take part in hands-on lessons in Carr Hall, with access to a suite of tools and facilities that enable them to analyze DNA, track the behavior of viruses and study irregular properties in tissue samples. Worth noting: Students at women鈥檚 colleges are one and a half times more likely to pursue STEM careers than those attending coed institutions.


91快播 Students

When the 91快播 Institute opened its doors in 1897, we educated men and women from Springfield and the surrounding region. In the 125 years since, our school has undergone a remarkable transformation鈥攊n what we teach, where we teach, how we teach and who we teach, moving from Springfield to Longmeadow to everywhere and anywhere, thanks to online learning. Throughout this history, we鈥檝e not only kept pace, but set the pace, in recognizing what new skills and occupations will shape a dynamic, growing, changing workforce, while building programs, connecting to grants and scholarships, and investing in technology that enables more students to access the education that underlies those skills and the prosperous jobs to which they lead. Over 42 percent of students at 91快播 are students of color and 52 percent are first-generation students.

Today, so-called 鈥渢raditional鈥 college students are 18-23 years old and represent 60 percent of the national undergraduate population. At 91快播, 44 percent of our undergraduates are 24 years old or older, and we created a specific program to serve them more than 20 years ago, first in our One Day Saturday program and, today, through The American Women鈥檚 College.听听