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Timeline: A Look Back
Timeline: A Look Back
1784
Leicester Academy is founded.
June 7, becoming the first nonsectarian academy in New England to accept female students.
1788
Eli Whitney, inventor of the cotton gin, graduates.
1791
The earliest documented presence of female students at the Academy is found in the diaries of student Ruth Henshaw, who would become early 19th century portrait artist Ruth Henshaw Miles Bascom.
1834
John Barton of Nova Scotia, Canada and Horace Dickenson of Montreal, Canada become the first known international students at Leicester Academy.
1836
William Morton, the “Father of Modern Anesthesiology,” graduates.
1840
Elizabeth Holmes joined the Academy faculty.
1880
First perfect game in major league baseball is pitched at the Worcester Agricultural Fairgrounds–now the Weller Academic Center quad on the Worcester Campus.
1844
The first known female international student, Susan A. King of Barnston, Canada, enrolls at Leicester Academy.
1886
Elliott P. Joslin, the first doctor in the United States to specialize in diabetes and the founder of today’s Joslin Diabetes Center, graduates.
1887
Becker’s Business College is founded at 492 Main St., Worcester, Mass.
1893
Harry G. Stoddard, Worcester industrialist, graduates.
1898
Robert Goddard, the “Father of Modern Rocketry,” studied at Becker.
1926
Becker’s Business College changes its name to Becker College of Business Administration and Secretarial Science.
1936
Colton House on Cedar St. in Worcester opens as the College’s first dormitory for women.
1937
Becker initiates a major in journalism–the first to be offered in the East.
Becker establishes its student newspaper, The Becker Journal.
1943
Becker School of Business Administration and Secretarial Science changes its name to Becker Junior College of Business Administration and Secretarial Science, and receives the authority to grant associate in science degrees.
1946
Harry E. Brown, B.A., M.A., was named president of Leicester Junior College.
1950
Becker introduces its retail merchandising program, the first in Massachusetts.
1951
Edward Fendell, NASA head of the Communications Systems Section, Flight Control Division, and instrumentation and communications officer for the Apollo 11 moon landing, graduates.
1954
Leicester Junior College was established.
1958
Senator John F. Kennedy visits campus to address a Becker assembly.
1963
The Paul R. Swan Library is dedicated on the Leicester Campus.
1968
The Borger Academic Center is dedicated on the Leicester Campus.
1974
Cooperative Education is first offered.
1977
Becker Junior College of Business Administration and Secretarial Science and Leicester Junior College merge.
1978
The associate in science in veterinary technology, the first in Massachusetts, is accredited.
1980
Becker College properties in Worcester are added to the National Register of Historic Places.
1982
The Animal Health Care Center opens on the Leicester Campus.
1986
The Gilbert R. Boutin Student Center is dedicated on the Worcester Campus.
1987
Nursing graduate Kathleen A. Flesher ’87 achieves a perfect score of 3,200 on the Massachusetts registered-nurse licensing examination in July, a one in 10,000 probability.
1990
Becker Junior College of Business Administration and Secretarial Science changes its name to Becker College, with continued authority to grant associate in science degrees.
The William F. Ruska Library is dedicated on the Worcester Campus.
1991
Becker College receives authority to grant bachelor of science and bachelor of arts degrees.
1992
A student center is constructed on the Leicester Campus.
1997
The Lenfest Family Animal Health Clinic is dedicated.
1999
Dr. Hunter “Patch” Adams presents “Medicine for Fun, Not Funds” on March 1 in the Presidential Speaker Series.
2000
The Arnold C. Weller, Jr. Academic Center is dedicated on the Worcester Campus.
2006
Becker College properties in Leicester are added to the National Register of Historic Places.
2008
Barrett Hall, a residence hall on the Leicester Campus, is dedicated in honor of Colleen Barrett ’64.
Rev. Samuel May, Jr. House is authenticated as an official National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom site by the National Park Service.
Becker College marks 20 years of criminal justice education.
2009
Becker College initiates the Franklin M. Loew Lecture Series in honor of the College’s eighth president.
The Becker College nursing program celebrates “25 Years of Caring.”
2010
The Princeton Review ranks the Becker College undergraduate video game design program #1 in New England and #4 in the United States and Canada.
Robert E. Johnson, Ph.D., is named tenth president of Becker College.
2011
Gov. Deval Patrick and Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray approve the designation of Becker College as host of the Massachusetts Digital Games Institute (Mass DiGI).
Becker College receives a $1.5 million grant from the Allerton Foundation to establish an endowed chair, the Allerton Chair of Animal Health Sciences.
2012
Becker College is selected by The Princeton Review as one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education and is included in its The Best 377 Colleges: 2013 Edition.
The Becker College game design program is ranked among the top-10 colleges in the U.S. and Canada by The Princeton Review.
The bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) program is launched.
Becker is #1 among undergraduate nursing programs in Massachusetts, with a 99% prelicensure nursing graduates’ first-time NCLEX pass rate in 2011.
The George F. and Sybil H. Fuller Student Center opened on the Leicester Campus.
2013
The Princeton Review includes Becker College as one of the 378 best colleges in the 2014 edition of its annual college guide, “The Best 378 Colleges”.
2014
Becker College launches its first fully online degree program, a bachelor of science in business administration.
The Princeton Review ranks the Becker College undergraduate Video Game Design program among the top 15 nationally.
The Princeton Review includes Becker College as one of the 379 best colleges in the 2015 edition of its annual college guide, “The Best 379 Colleges.”
The College completes work as a member of The 10th Cohort of the American Council on Education’s Internationalization Laboratory. The Center for Global Citizenship opens on the Worcester Campus.
The college becomes one of 19 charter members of the Higher Education Video Game Alliance (HEVGA).
The College opens the Professor John Dorsey Crime Scene and Evidence Lab, a working scene and lab for criminal justice studies on the Worcester Campus.
Thomas Friedman—New York Times columnist, author, and Pulitzer-Prize winner—delivers the inaugural lecture in the Presidential Speaker Series on April 8 at Mechanics Hall in Worcester.
The College launches its first master’s degree program, in mental health counseling.
2015
Colleen Barrett ’64 gives a $1 million gift—the largest individual gift in the College’s history—to name and create the College’s new Center for Global Leadership.
Women’s ice hockey is added to the College’s varsity sports program.
Becker College posts a record enrollment, with 2,021 students—the largest in the College’s history.
Becker College graduates 442 members of the Class of 2015-the largest graduating class in the College’s history.
Becker College is ranked #9 in the world for its game design program by The Princeton Review.
The Princeton Review includes Becker College as one of the 380 best colleges in the 2016 edition of its annual college guide, “The Best 380 Colleges.”
2016
For the fifth year in a row, Becker College is named among the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education by The Princeton Review.
Becker College is ranked #5 in the world for its game design program by The Princeton Review.
2017
Dr. Nancy P. Crimmin is named the 11th President of Becker College.
Becker College is once again ranked #5 in the world for its game design program by The Princeton Review.
2018
Becker College is ranked #4 in the world for its game design program by The Princeton Review.
Opened the Colleen C. Barrett Center for Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship on the Worcester Campus.
2019
Becker College is ranked #3 in the world for its game design program by The Princeton Review.
Becker College ranked #7 for nursing program in Massachusetts.
2020
2021
POINTS OF PRIDE
POINTS OF PRIDE
Recognized as a national and Massachusetts College of Distinction, a “Nursing College of Distinction,” and a “Career Development College of Distinction.”
Ranked by The Princeton Review as a “Best College” for undergraduate education.
Ranked by The Princeton Review as a “Best Regional College.”
Selected to join the inaugural cohort of institutions in the First Scholars®Network, an initiative of NASPA—Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education and The Suder Foundation. Becker was selected to join the Network after demonstrating a commitment to advancing the outcomes of first-generation students through improving both first-generation student success initiatives and institution-wide approaches.
Named to Phi Theta Kappa’s 2020 Transfer Honor Roll, which recognizes excellence in the development of transfer pathways. The honor is awarded to the top 25 percent of colleges who earned the organization’s highest Transfer Friendliness Ratings.
Average placement rate of 90% for employment or further study.
Retention and graduation rates above the national average.
One of the institutions of higher education in the U.S. to mandate a 100% social impact strategy across its entire endowment. The strategy, mandated by the College’s Board of Trustees, is focused on making a positive impact on the social, environmental, and economic sectors. Becker was one of the first institutions of higher education in the country to invest its full endowment towards positively impacting social justice and the environment.
The only institution of higher education in Worcester to offer a Millennial Fellowship program. The Millennium Fellowship is a selective leadership development program advancing UN goals presented by United Nations Academic Impact and the Millennium Campus Network.
School of Human & Animal Health
Recognized as a “Nursing College of Distinction” for its strong record of preparing graduates for real-world success.
The Registered Nursing Program is ranked #1 out of 50 nursing schools in Massachusetts by Nursingprocess.org.
The College’s online RN to BSN program is recognized as one of the best programs in the Commonwealth by TopRNtoBSN.com.
The associate’s degree in nursing program has been ranked as the top program in Massachusetts by Nursing Schools Almanac.
Nursing graduates have consistently maintained one of the highest pass rates on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN), with a 10-year average NCLEX pass rate of 95%.
The only private college in New England to offer AVMA-accredited Bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Technology.
The third-largest producer of undergraduate vet tech degrees among four-year, private, not-for-profit institutions in the U.S.
Home to a fully operational veterinary clinic, open to the public, that sees more than 1,000 patients annually and provides students with hands-on experience. Students gain experience at an on-campus animal clinic, as well as more than 350 available externship sites.
The American Association of Veterinary State Boards reports that for the time period July 1, 2018-June 30, 2019, the Becker pass rate for first-time candidates for its Veterinary Technician National Examination (VTNE) was 83.7%, well above the national pass rate for all first-time candidates of 74.8%.
Ranked #2 out of all small colleges in the United States by Great Value Colleges on its list.
A significant percentage of graduates gain employment from externship/preceptorship rotations, which occur the summer before the sophomore year of the associate degree program or the senior year for the bachelor degree program.
Animal studies students spend more than 100 hours each year assisting the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association Charities Mazunte Turtle Project in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Becker’s undergraduate video game design program is ranked #2 in the world and #1 in New England by The Princeton Review. The program has been top-ranked for nine consecutive years.
Becker is ranked #10 in the world by The Princeton Review for its Master of Fine Arts in Interactive Media program.
College Magazine recognized Becker as the #1 school in the U.S. for those who want to pursue a career in the field of gaming.
The School is the first in the nation to offer a bachelor’s degree in Esports Management.
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker described Becker as: “an example of growth in the ‘creative economy’…one of the country’s leading . . . educational institutions for computer gaming.”— Worcester Business Journal.
Becker is one of only ten institutions of higher education in the U.S. to receive certification in Houdini, the premier, state-of-the-art digital content creation tool for the feature film and games industry.
Animation Career Review ranked Becker as a top-5 school for game design in Massachusetts.
School of Graduate & Professional Studies
The Reliant Foundation awarded a grant to fund a Mental Health Career Pipeline Scholarship for students enrolled in the Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling program. The grant, which addresses the shortage of mental health professionals in the Greater Worcester area, provides students with the financial support they need to complete their education and training.
Becker is ranked #10 in the world by The Princeton Review for its Master of Fine Arts in Interactive Media program.
The School is ranked as one of the nation’s best online programs by education research publisher SR Education Group.
In 2011, Becker was designated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as home to the Massachusetts Digital Games Institute (MassDiGI), a first-in-the-nation center that connects the state’s game industry, government, and academic community to support growth and entrepreneurship across the region’s games ecosystem.
The U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration awarded MassDiGI highly competitive, five-year University Center program grants in 2011 and again in 2016.
MassDiGI, working with UMass Medical School, earned Best in Show at the Serious Games and Virtual Environments Showcase at the 2013 SSIH International Meeting for Simulation in Healthcare.
Since starting the Summer Innovation Program in 2012 and LiveStudio in 2015, MassDiGI has worked with hundreds of student interns and dozens of colleges and universities, and published over 30 games reaching hundreds of thousands of players around the world on platforms including the App Store, Google Play, Steam, and Itch.
MassDiGI’s Game Challenge pitch contest has attracted around 400 competitors since it was launch in 2012 and has become a key event on the regional game industry calendar.
In 2016, Entrepreneurship for All recognized MassDiGI with its first-ever Innovation Award as one of the top entrepreneurship programs of its kind in the country.
In 2017, the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce honored MassDiGI for its contribution to the region with a Game Changer award.
Launched in 2018, MassDiGI’s Pre-Game Challenge pitch practice, designed for students only, has attracted more than 30 competitors.
Past MassDiGI student interns have gone on to work for places such as: Sony, Google, 2K, Nickelodeon, USA Today, Harmonix, Microsoft, Facebook, Apple, MIT Lincoln Lab, EA, Amazon, Warner Bros., Epic, Uber, SAP, Wizards of the Coast, Riot, Disney, Wayfair, Filament Games, Adult Swim, Teach for America, Rooster Teeth, Unity, Zapdot, Disruptor Beam, Insomniac Games, Hi-Rez Studios, Philips, Goldman Sachs, Zenimax, Obsidian, Legends of Learning, and Hasbro.
65 Becker student-athletes were named to the Dean’s list in the spring of 2019, while 65 were also named to the fall 2018 Dean’s list.
31 Becker student-athletes were honored on New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) 2018-19 All-Academic teams for having a minimum GPA of a 3.40 in an NECC-sponsored sport.
17 football and men’s ice hockey student-athletes were named to the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) All-Academic Teams for holding a 3.30 cumulative GPA, while 10 women’s ice hockey student-athletes were named to the Colonial Hockey Conference All-Academic for maintaining a minimum GPA of a 3.00.
In 2019, 38 Becker senior student-athletes graduated with a 3.0 GPA or higher.
19 student-athletes were inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma, a student-athlete honor society, in 2019.
The softball team won the President’s Academic Cup in both fall 2018 and spring 2019, as they were the team with the highest team GPA of any varsity sport.
The Hawks named two student-athletes to the Google Cloud CoSIDA Academic All-Region teams for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom – Lindsey Keith of the women’s soccer team and Michael McMahon of the baseball team were awarded this prestigious honor.
The Becker women’s lacrosse team made mark in the 2019 season as the team posted a program-high 13 wins, won the NECC regular season title as they went undefeated in regular season conference play. The Hawks took three-of-four major NECC women’s lacrosse awards – Nikolle Storey was named NECC Women’s Lacrosse Goalkeeper of the Year, Clare Conway was voted the NECC Women’s Lacrosse Rookie of the Year, and Ashley Mossey was tabbed NECC Women’s Lacrosse Coach of the Year.
Men’s basketball student-athlete, Kareem Davis, was voted Becker’s Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year after breaking the NCAA era career points record with 1,876 points while also posting Becker record-high’s in three-pointers made, free-throws made, and minutes played.
Michael Bianco of Becker’s football and baseball teams was also awarded the Becker Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year following a storied football career at Becker, holding records in career forced fumbles and single-game tackles, in addition to being named the CCC Defensive Player of the Year in 2017.
Women’s basketball student-athlete Adrianna Dowdy leaves Becker College as the first Hawk to reach both 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. She holds the Becker College all-time rebounding record with 1,032.
Women’s soccer student-athlete, Lindsey Keith, broke Becker’s all-time career goals record (74) and all-time career points record (173) this season. She also tied Becker’s all-time single season goals and points records with 25 and 55, respectively.
Women’s ice hockey player Claudia Gee departs the Becker women’s ice hockey program with a program-best 53 career points (26 goals, 27 points) while Bailey Coons graduates Becker with a program-best 35 career goals.
Becker’s field hockey student-athletes Samantha Carter and Victoria Pilpel were both voted the NECC’s Field Hockey Player of the Year, and Goalkeeper of the Year, respectively.
Sofia Cullina of the women’s volleyball team broke the Becker school record in career digs this past season. Going into her senior year, she holds 1,047 career digs.
Becker’s softball student-athletes Vasia Murphy and Emily Iacovelli tied for the single-season home runs records as they each hold nine total.
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