Mount Ida College
Encyclopedia
Mount Ida College is a private
college
in Newton, Massachusetts
offering profession
al undergraduate
and graduate
degrees.
founded in 1899 by George Franklin Jewett, named after the hill on which it was located in Newton Corner, Massachusetts
. The first junior college
level courses were offered at Mount Ida in 1907, but the first associate degrees were not awarded until 1967. After encountering severe financial difficulties, it was forced to close during the Great Depression
, but was purchased by William Fitts Carlson in 1939 and relocated to its present location in Oak Hill
section of Newton.
The school was later renamed as Mount Ida Junior College, and became a co-educational institution in the Autumn of 1972. Several Boston-based institutions also merged with Mount Ida on the Newton campus, including Grahm Junior College
(1979), Bryant & Stratton Business Institute (1979), Chamberlayne Junior College (1988), New England Institute of Funeral Service Education (1989), and Coyne Electrical and Technical School. A senior college division awarding bachelor's degree
s was added in the 1980s, with an emphasis on career and professional education.
). The estate was transferred after Appleton's death to Robert Gould Shaw II
. Shaw commissioned Boston architect James Lovell Little Junior to build a carriage house and horse stable in 1910; this building was subsequently refurbished and is now known as Holbrook Hall. The building now known as Shaw Hall, which became the nucleus for the new Mount Ida campus, was also commissioned by Shaw and designed by Little in 1912. The building now known as Hallden Academic Support Center was also constructed in 1912, presumably by Little.
The Shaw fortune had collapsed during the Depression, which enabled Dr. Carlson to purchase the vacant and decaying Shaw Estate and reopen Mount Ida Junior College in 1939. In 1956, a two story dormitory designed by architect Albert C. Rugo was added to Shaw Hall. Rugo designed several other buildings that were added to the complex in the 1950s and 1960s.
.
The Gallery at Mount Ida College holds exhibitions of regional, national, and international fine art
ists and designers. The Gallery has featured works in photography
, painting
, sculpture
, video
, and a variety of other art forms. The Gallery opened in 1999, allowing artists and designers to have a showcase for traditional and alternative media works as an innovative part of the Mount Ida College Learning Community.
in eleven NCAA
Division III varsity sports, as well as IHSA
equestrian
competition and club baseball. Other student activities include Student Government, a campus newspaper, over 20 clubs and organizations as well as many one day events sponsored by student activities.
from Strafford County, New Hampshire
from 1994 - 2007, is a 1976 graduate of Mount Ida College. Thomas Menino
, Mayor of Boston from 1993 – present, earned his associate degree in 1963 from Chamberlayne Junior College, which later became part of Mount Ida College. Wine critic Gary Vaynerchuk
is also a graduate of Mount Ida College.
Private university
Private universities are universities not operated by governments, although many receive public subsidies, especially in the form of tax breaks and public student loans and grants. Depending on their location, private universities may be subject to government regulation. Private universities are...
college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
in Newton, Massachusetts
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...
offering profession
Profession
A profession is a vocation founded upon specialized educational training, the purpose of which is to supply disinterested counsel and service to others, for a direct and definite compensation, wholly apart from expectation of other business gain....
al undergraduate
Undergraduate education
Undergraduate education is an education level taken prior to gaining a first degree . Hence, in many subjects in many educational systems, undergraduate education is post-secondary education up to the level of a bachelor's degree, such as in the United States, where a university entry level is...
and graduate
Postgraduate education
Postgraduate education involves learning and studying for degrees or other qualifications for which a first or Bachelor's degree generally is required, and is normally considered to be part of higher education...
degrees.
History
The Mount Ida School for Girls was a private all-female high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
founded in 1899 by George Franklin Jewett, named after the hill on which it was located in Newton Corner, Massachusetts
Newton Corner, Massachusetts
Newton Corner is a village of Newton, Massachusetts, United States. Newton Corner borders Brighton, a neighborhood of Boston, as well as the city of Watertown, Massachusetts...
. The first junior college
Junior college
The term junior college refers to different educational institutions in different countries.-India:In India, most states provide schooling through 12th grade...
level courses were offered at Mount Ida in 1907, but the first associate degrees were not awarded until 1967. After encountering severe financial difficulties, it was forced to close during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, but was purchased by William Fitts Carlson in 1939 and relocated to its present location in Oak Hill
Oak Hill, Massachusetts
Oak Hill is one of thirteen villages of the city of Newton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA.-History and geography:This village is situated on a landform known since the mid-17th century as Oak Hill, and one of the seven principal elevations of Newton .One of the last...
section of Newton.
The school was later renamed as Mount Ida Junior College, and became a co-educational institution in the Autumn of 1972. Several Boston-based institutions also merged with Mount Ida on the Newton campus, including Grahm Junior College
Grahm Junior College
Grahm Junior College was a private junior college located in Boston, Massachusetts. The school opened in 1957 under the name Cambridge School of Business, as part of a chain of schools. Other branches were later based in Chicago and Philadelphia...
(1979), Bryant & Stratton Business Institute (1979), Chamberlayne Junior College (1988), New England Institute of Funeral Service Education (1989), and Coyne Electrical and Technical School. A senior college division awarding bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
s was added in the 1980s, with an emphasis on career and professional education.
Campus
The campus of Mount Ida College is located on a tract of land in Oak Hill, Newton, that once belonged to William Sumner Appleton (1840 – 1903, father of William Sumner Appleton JuniorWilliam Sumner Appleton
William Sumner Appleton, Jr. was Founder of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities in 1910. He was the chief force behind much of the preservation of historic homes in the New England area...
). The estate was transferred after Appleton's death to Robert Gould Shaw II
Robert Gould Shaw II
Robert Gould Shaw II was a wealthy landowner and socialite of the leisure class in the greater Boston area of Massachusetts during the late 19th century, in an era of rapid economic and population growth in the United States referred to as the Gilded Age.Born in 1872 into one of the wealthiest and...
. Shaw commissioned Boston architect James Lovell Little Junior to build a carriage house and horse stable in 1910; this building was subsequently refurbished and is now known as Holbrook Hall. The building now known as Shaw Hall, which became the nucleus for the new Mount Ida campus, was also commissioned by Shaw and designed by Little in 1912. The building now known as Hallden Academic Support Center was also constructed in 1912, presumably by Little.
The Shaw fortune had collapsed during the Depression, which enabled Dr. Carlson to purchase the vacant and decaying Shaw Estate and reopen Mount Ida Junior College in 1939. In 1956, a two story dormitory designed by architect Albert C. Rugo was added to Shaw Hall. Rugo designed several other buildings that were added to the complex in the 1950s and 1960s.
Student life
The college has approximately 1,500 students enrolled as of the 2007–2008 academic year. Approximately 60% of students live in campus housingDormitory
A dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students...
.
Academics
Mount Ida College consists of five schools:- The School of Arts & Sciences
- The Chamberlayne School of Design
- The School of Business
- The School of Animal Science
- The New England Institute
The Gallery at Mount Ida College holds exhibitions of regional, national, and international fine art
Fine art
Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....
ists and designers. The Gallery has featured works in photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
, video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
, and a variety of other art forms. The Gallery opened in 1999, allowing artists and designers to have a showcase for traditional and alternative media works as an innovative part of the Mount Ida College Learning Community.
Athletics
Mount Ida's athletes compete as the Mustangs in the Great Northeast Athletic ConferenceGreat Northeast Athletic Conference
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the States of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.-Current...
in eleven NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Division III varsity sports, as well as IHSA
Intercollegiate Horse Show Association
-Overview:The Intercollegiate Horse Show Association or IHSA is an equestrian organization established in 1967 by Bob Cacchione when he was a sophomore at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey...
equestrian
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
competition and club baseball. Other student activities include Student Government, a campus newspaper, over 20 clubs and organizations as well as many one day events sponsored by student activities.
Notable alumni
Marlene M. DeChane, a New Hampshire State RepresentativeNew Hampshire House of Representatives
The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members coming from 103 districts across the state, created from divisions of the state's counties. On average, each legislator represents about 3,300...
from Strafford County, New Hampshire
Strafford County, New Hampshire
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 112,233 people, 42,581 households, and 27,762 families residing in the county. The population density was 304 people per square mile . There were 45,539 housing units at an average density of 124 per square mile...
from 1994 - 2007, is a 1976 graduate of Mount Ida College. Thomas Menino
Thomas Menino
Thomas Michael "Tom" Menino is the mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, United States and the city's first Italian-American mayor...
, Mayor of Boston from 1993 – present, earned his associate degree in 1963 from Chamberlayne Junior College, which later became part of Mount Ida College. Wine critic Gary Vaynerchuk
Gary Vaynerchuk
Gary Vaynerchuk is a video blogger, co-owner and director of operations of a wine retail store, and an author and public speaker on the subjects of social media, brand building and e-commerce. Vaynerchuk immigrated to the U.S...
is also a graduate of Mount Ida College.
External links
- Official website
- City of Newton Massachusetts Atlas (1886): Section S, Ward 1. The original location of the Mount Ida School for Girls (Mount Ida, Bellevue Street and Summit Street) is clearly visible on this 1886 map of Newton Massachusetts.
- City of Newton Massachusetts Atlas (1886): Section V, Ward 5. The current location of Mount Ida College (property owned by W.S. Appleton) is clearly visible on this 1886 map of Newton Massachusetts.