Assumptionist Sponsorship
The Assumptionists, whose spirit invites them to give “a doctrinal, ecumenical, and social dimension” to whatever they do, belong to a religious order founded by Father Emmanuel d’Alzon, an educator whose most cherished project was the establishment of a Catholic university. To all those who taught in his schools — religious and laity alike — he proposed the motto: “Until Christ be formed in you.” Father d’Alzon envisioned an institution committed to the pursuit of truth and academic excellence wherein faith and reason give harmonious witness to the unity of all truth. He sought the development of the whole person. He wanted the students to grow in the knowledge of their human condition as well as of their ultimate destiny.
Since the specific purpose of his Congregation is to extend the Kingdom of God, he concerned himself with the special bond that exists between a liberal education and the Gospel message. Liberal education, posing as it does the fundamental questions about God and creation, sets the student on a personal quest for truth. Spurred on by the wisdom found through reflection on the visible world, and encouraged by an intellectual community whose faith seeks deeper understanding, the student is led to those deeper realities which cannot be seen. A liberal education thus provides the dynamic vehicle for attaining one’s full development as a human being. The Assumptionists, therefore, maintain their involvement at Assumption University because they see it as a place where they can carry out the mission of the Church in the field of higher education. In collaboration with the trustees and the entire administrative, academic, and clerical staff, they have a primary role in guaranteeing the Catholic character of Assumption University and in promoting a philosophy of education which is consonant with the highest Christian and classical values and ideals. Through this commitment, they share in the building of an enlightened Church and in the formation of Christian leaders.
History of the University
Assumption University was founded in 1904 by the Augustinians of the Assumption (the Assumptionists), a religious congregation founded in France in 1850. Initially, the students were sons of immigrants from French Canada who had settled in New England. The University was originally located in the Greendale section of Worcester, Massachusetts. Through the years of the Great Depression and World War II, Assumption remained a small school dedicated to producing a Catholic elite to serve the Franco-American population of New England. The school was decimated by World War II, when virtually the entire University-level student body left for military service. Fortunately, the numbers in the preparatory school increased as dramatically as those in the University declined. After the war, the Assumptionists observed the gradual assimilation of French-speaking families into the English-speaking mainstream. In the early 1950s they began admitting Franco-American students who knew no French, and all classes were taught in English. A graduate studies program was instituted in 1952. Just as this new era was getting under way, a tornado struck the Greendale campus on June 9, 1953, taking three lives and causing extensive damage to buildings and grounds. The Assumptionists decided to turn this disaster into the long-awaited opportunity to separate the prep school from the College. The Greendale campus was restored as the home of Assumption Preparatory School, while the College carried on first in temporary quarters and then, in 1956, on the current Salisbury Street campus. The purchase of the property on Salisbury Street was made possible by way of a generous grant from the Kennedy Foundation.
During its sixty years on Worcester’s west side, the University has lived through many changes and challenges. By the end of the 1950s, lay professors outnumbered Assumptionists on the faculty, a process that has accelerated over the decades. In 1968, the Assumptionists turned the school over to a new board of trustees made up of both religious and lay people. In 1969, women matriculated as undergraduates for the first time. In 1972, the College welcomed its first lay president. In 2013, a campus was opened in Rome, Italy to provide students with a unique study-abroad experience utilizing the city of Rome as the classroom. In recent years, academic offerings have expanded to meet the interests of students and societal needs, while maintaining a strong commitment to the liberal arts as the foundation for all programs. Most notably programs in Nursing, Cybersecurity, Data Analytics and Neuroscience have been developed. The addition of these new programs, along with existing programs, point to the fact that Assumption has evolved over several decades into a comprehensive institution. Consequently, in 2019, Assumption underwent a restructuring into five separate schools – the D’Amour College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Grenon School of Business, the Froelich School of Nursing, the School of Health Professions and the School of Graduate and Professional Studies. In 2020, in recognition of the comprehensive nature of the institution, Assumption was approved for university status by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The University has experienced significant facilities growth, to support an undergraduate population of 2,000 and more than 500 graduate students. The physical plant portfolio has been greatly enhanced since 2000 with new buildings such as the Tsotsis Family Academic Center, Admissions House, the Testa Science Center, the Fuller Information Technology Center, new residence halls, and the Multi-Sport Stadium, as well as major renovations to academic buildings, dining facilities and residence halls. In 2012, the Tinsley Campus Ministry Center was completed adjacent to the Chapel of the Holy Spirit. The Tsotsis Family Academic Center, which includes the Curtis Performance Hall, the Lagarce Trade Room, the Honors Program and the Core Texts and Enduring Questions Program, along with classrooms and offices for the Grenon School of Business, was, completed in 2017. The University’s most recent building is the Health Sciences facility which houses the Froehlich School of Nursing, the health science program, and the physician assistant studies program.