Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology

Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology (Franklin Cummings Tech) is a private college of engineering and industrial technologies in Boston, Massachusetts. It was established in 1908 with funds bequeathed in Benjamin Franklin's will.

This article is about the technology school in Boston. For the museum in Philadelphia, see Franklin Institute.
Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology
TypePrivate college
Established1908 (1908)
AccreditationNECHE
Endowment~$4 million
President and CEOAisha Francis
Undergraduates500[1]
Location
Boston
,
Massachusetts
,
United States

42.3457°N 71.0702°W / 42.3457; -71.0702
CampusUrban, 0.7 acres (0.28 ha)
Websitewww.bfit.edu

History

Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology owes its existence to the vision of Benjamin Franklin. In a codicil to his will, dated 1789, Franklin established a 200-year plan for £1,000 (about $4,400 at the time, or about $112,000 in 2010 dollars) that he gave to the city of Boston, where he was born. For the first hundred years, the money was to serve as principal for loans to young workmen; at the end of that period, the fund's managers would divide the money, using approximately three-fourths for public works and maintaining the rest as a loan fund.[2]

When the hundred-year interval had passed, Boston decided to use the money to establish a technical school. Aided by an additional gift from industrialist Andrew Carnegie and land donated by the city, the institute opened its doors in 1908. A series of murals on campus were painted by Charles Mills.[3]

In 2019, the institute announced plans to sell its three-building 1908 campus and look for a 30% larger facility.[4] In September 2019, the institute announced a move to a new campus located on seven-tenths of an acre in the Dudley Square section of Roxbury (now renamed Nubian Square) to be closer to the neighborhoods where many of its students lived. The new 85,000 square feet (7,900 m2) building is expected to open in the autumn of 2024.[5]

In September 2020, the Boston Globe leaked that the institute was planning for a possible merger with the Wentworth Institute of Technology. The merger deal faced opposition among community members and city officials based on how the merger would affect Benjamin Franklin's ability to continue to serve low-income minority students, as well as the secretive nature of the merger negotiations themselves.[6] In November 2020, the college's board of trustees voted to keep Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology independent and to discontinue any merger talks.[7]

In February 2022, the college announced it received a $12.5 million gift from the Cummings Foundation to advance its work in creating technical career pathways for students typically underrepresented in post-secondary education. In recognition of the transformational nature of the commitment—nearly equivalent to the school's annual operating budget—the college was renamed Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology.[8][9]

Academics

As of 2022, the college served approximately 870 students (61% in traditional programs and 39% through strategic partnerships and continuing education programs), with a 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio,[10] and offered programs of study awarding certificates, associate degrees, and bachelor's degrees.[1][11]

The college is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).[12]

References
  1. "2022--2023 Academic Catalog". Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  2. "Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology History". Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology. Archived from the original on 9 September 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  3. "Dedham Historical Society Hosts an Exhibition of Paintings by Charles Mills". The Dedham Times. Vol. 25, no. 28. July 14, 2017. p. 17.
  4. "Benjamin Franklin Institute will sell South End campus, relocate school". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2019-02-03. Retrieved 2019-02-02.
  5. Logan, Tim (2019-09-30). "Ben Franklin Institute will move to Dudley Square". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2019-10-01. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  6. "A Secret Merger Discussion in Boston". Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  7. "Benjamin Franklin Institute rejects wrong-headed Wentworth merger". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2020-11-30. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  8. Walker, Adrian (February 22, 2022). "Foundation gives $12.5 million to Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology in transformative gift". BostonGlobe.com. Archived from the original on 2022-10-05. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  9. "Meet rebranded Benjamin Cummings Institute". www.bizjournals.com. Archived from the original on 2023-01-30. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  10. "Fast Facts". Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology. Archived from the original on 2018-01-04. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
  11. Landry, Lauren (2013-11-13). "Associate Editor". BostInno. Archived from the original on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  12. "New England Commission of Higher Education". NECHE. Archived from the original on 2022-10-05. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
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