Lasell University

East Hall

Lasell was founded in 1851 as the Auburndale Female Seminary by Williams College Professor of Chemistry, Edward Lasell, after he took a sabbatical from his job in Williamstown to teach at the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley,[2] where the experience inspired him to invest more personally in women's education. He died of typhoid fever during the first semester, but his school proved highly successful as a first-rate educational institution and was soon renamed Lasell Female Seminary in his memory.[3]

Its name later changed to Lasell Seminary for Young Women and, in 1874, governance was given to a board of trustees and Principal Charles C. Bragdon.[4] Bragdon further expanded the faculty to make Lasell renowned as a more academically rigorous institution, a prestigious school with a highly scientific approach to domestic work, art, and music.[2] As an innovative institution, known for a radical approach to women's education at the time, Lasell also administered the Harvard exams and offered law courses for women.[2][5][6]

Lasell also offered two years of standard collegiate instruction as early as 1852 and is cited as having been the "first successful and persistent" junior college in the United States.[7] In 1932, the college changed its name to Lasell Junior College, and the school officially began offering associate degrees in 1943.[8] In 1989, Lasell adopted a charter to become a four-year institution (it no longer offers any two-year undergraduate degrees), and began admitting male students in 1997.[9] Lasell also began offering master's degrees in 2002.

Lasell faced controversy in 2000 when seven former students sued and claimed that the nursing program, which had been discontinued in 1999, had been a sham.[10] The following year, the college built Lasell Village, an elderly education facility in which residents paid to live and attend classes. Although the college argued that the property was in line with its non-profit mission and exempt from property taxes, the city successfully sued the college for not paying property taxes for the property.[11][12]

In September 2010, a settlement was also filed in Suffolk Superior Court stipulating that Lasell would have to pay $191,314 to over 1,000 students over a conflict of interest in their Financial Aid Department. The investigation was done by the office of Attorney General Martha Coakley.[13]

The college explored merging with Mount Ida College, another liberal arts institution located in Newton, in February 2018. The reasons given for the proposed merger were to help keep tuition cost as low as possible and maintaining academic quality.[14]

In 2019, the institution's application to become a university was approved by the State Board of Education and it changed its name to Lasell University.[15]

The university's financial challenges came to light in 2023 when several academic programs - global studies, sociology, English, history, and fitness management - were eliminated and 4 faculty and 12 staff members let go. Lasell had a $12 million budget deficit in 2022-2023 and declining undergraduate enrollment since 2011.[16]

Lasell University campus

Lasell has been accredited by the Commission on Institution of Higher Education (CIHE) of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) since 1932[17] and offers bachelor's degrees in the liberal arts and professional disciplines.[18] Through its "Connected Learning" program, students work on off-site projects and assignments.[19] Lasell also offers graduate degrees in education, communication, sport management, athletic training, criminal justice, human resources, marketing, management (MS and MBA), and rehabilitation science.[20]

In 2018, U.S. News & World Report listed Lasell College among only five other colleges with having 100 percent of its graduating seniors participate in an internship experience.[21]

According to U.S. News & World Report, Lasell University has been ranked 9th for the category, "Great Schools at Great Prices" and ranked 25th for the "Best Regional College" in the North.[22] Lasell ranked at 123 out of baccalaureate colleges in the United States for the Washington Monthly College Guide, ranking at number 3 specifically on "a combined measure of the number of staff supporting community service, relative to the total number of staff; the number of academic courses that incorporate service, relative to school size; and whether the institution provides scholarships for community service."[23]

Lasell University spring fashion show.

The Lasell campus covers roughly 54 acres (22 ha) in the Newton, Massachusetts, village of Auburndale, adjacent to the Lasell Neighborhood Historic District. There are approximately 58 buildings, 27 of which are student dormitories.[27]

The campus is located about half a mile from the Auburndale Commuter Rail station on the Framingham/Worcester Line, and about one mile away from the Riverside MBTA Station on the Green Line's D train, which takes commuters into the downtown Boston area. A shuttle runs regularly between the campus and Riverside Station.[28]

Of the 1,600 students who attend Lasell, 73% live on campus, 40% come from out-of-state (undergraduate students), and 22% are students of color.[29] Roughly 36% of students at Lasell are male.[30]

• Donald J. Winslow (1987). Lasell: a history of the first junior college for women. Lasell Junior College. ISBN 0-9619720-0-9.

• Official website