Bradford College (United States)

Bradford College operated in the part of Haverhill, Massachusetts that was once the town of Bradford. Founded in 1803, Bradford College began as Bradford Academy, one of New England's earliest coeducational institutions. In 1836 Bradford chose to devote itself exclusively to the education of women. By 1932, the school had grown from a secondary school and became Bradford Junior College. In 1971 Bradford was authorized to grant bachelor's degrees. The new Bradford College began admitting men again that same year. Bradford College focused on the creative arts and social sciences with one of the oldest alumni associations in the country.On November 19, 1999 its Board of Trustees announced that the 197-year-old liberal arts institution would close in May 2000.HistoryBradford College traced its origins to Bradford Academy, which was founded in 1803, and used that date in its collegiate logo. The academy incorporated in 1804. Many of Bradford's early graduates became Christian missionaries. The first president of Bradford was Dr. Katharine Denworth, a graduate of Swarthmore with a doctorate from Columbia. Her tenure from 1927 to 1939 oversaw the transformation of Bradford in 1932 to a liberal arts junior college for women leading to a bachelor's degree. With degrees in classics from Oberlin and Smith, scholar Dorothy M. Bell became president in 1940. Over the ensuing 27 years Ms. Bell led Bradford Junior College through World War II and to national and international prestige as a two-year liberal arts private women's college, retiring in 1967. The college became coeducational and the name changed to Bradford College in 1971.