State Colleges Are Renamed "State Universities"

Photo credit: Matt Bennett/Governor's Office.
More photos of the event available on Flickr.
July 28—Surrounded by hundreds of state college students, presidents, and faculty and state legislators, Governor Patrick today signed House Bill 4864 into law, creating a state university system for the nine current Massachusetts state colleges.
“The Massachusetts Legislature has taken an important step forward in recognizing the fine work of our nine state colleges by voting to rename them state universities,” said Richard M. Freeland, Commissioner of Higher Education. “As I see it, this action simply aligns Massachusetts with the practice found in more than 40 other states, where public four-year and master’s institutions were long ago designated as state universities. This action reaffirms the growing importance of our public higher education institutions. It represents a strong show of legislative support for the achievements of our faculty and students.”
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Final Report from the Commissioners Advisory Group on Undergraduate Education (.PDF)
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