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 The College’s charter was expanded in 1959 to permit the College to grant the
bachelor’s degree in any field of business administration, science, engineering, education, and law, and certain master’s degrees. In the 21st Century, the charter
was expanded in 2005 to include the LL.M. in Estate Planning and Elder Law and again in 2008 with the inclusion of the Ph.D. in Behavior Analysis.
The School of Arts and Sciences was established in 1967, and the College received accreditation as a general purpose institution in 1972.
The decades of the Sixties, Seventies, Eighties, and Nineties saw the College’s academic programs expanding, its student body growing, and the addition of a
number of buildings including the D’Amour Library, the Blake Law Center, the St. Germain Campus Center, the Alumni Healthful Living Center, and the
LaRiviere Living and Learning Center. In 2001, the Evergreen Village townhouses opened for seniors. In 2002, the Kevin S.
Delbridge Welcome Center opened, housing the admissions offices. In 2003, Commonwealth Hall and the Golden Bear
Stadium opened. The George Trelease Memorial Baseball Park was completed in 2004. In 2006, the $1.9 million expansion to
the D’Amour Library was completed. In 2008 and 2009, respectively, the College expanded and renovated the Blake Law Center and built Southwood Hall.
The College’s beautifully maintained 215-acre campus serves as home to undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and law students
from throughout the United States and abroad. Undergraduate and graduate programs are offered in the Schools of Arts and
Sciences, Business, Engineering, and Law. In 2010, the School of Pharmacy was established, and the College was granted a
change to its charter permitting Western New England College to offer the degree of Doctor of Pharmacy. Western New England College has 40,000 alumni around the world.
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The Springfield Division of Northeastern College, known as
Springfield-Northeastern , was established in 1919. Evening classes, held in the YMCA building on Chestnut Street in Springfield for students studying part-time, were offered
in law, business, and accounting. The first 13 graduates were recognized in 1922 with the degree of Bachelor of Commercial Science. In 1923 the first seven law graduates were recognized.
In 1951 the Springfield Division of Northeastern
University became Western New England College. The College was chartered on July 17, 1951. On April 26, 1956, 34 acres for the current Wilbraham
Road campus were purchased. In that same year the first day program was started; it was in engineering, with 53 students enrolled. The first building, originally known as East Building and later renamed
Emerson Hall in recognition of the College’s first trustee chairman, opened in 1959.