1980
19 69 Bryant’s Graduate School of
Business is founded, granting a Master of Business Administration. The school today offers five degrees. Schuyler Hoslett, noted author, lecturer and former faculty member at Cornell University and Columbia University, becomes the first Bryant president since 1916 who was not a member of the Jacobs family. Women students successfully demand that they be allowed to wear slacks to class and around campus. Bryant buys its first computer, an IBM 1130 . Although use of the new technology is slow at first, eventually the admission office, registrar’s office, and the bursar’s office enter data. M A RC H 2 0, 19 69 Brown University
agrees to pay Bryant $5 million for its East Side campus, comprising 26 buildings and 10.9 acres of land.
N OV E M B E R 19 8 2 after receiving a
federal grant, Bryant becomes the first private college in the nation to oversee a Small Business Development Center. J U N E 5 , 19 70 Harry F. Evarts, a dean
19 8 2 Bryant ends its two-year secretarial
at Ohio State University and author of a book on business management, is tapped by the board of trustees as Bryant’s next president.
program in anticipation of major workplace changes in the wake of widespread use of personal computers and women’s changing roles in business.
19 7 1 In a last-minute decision, the
19 8 5 The Center for Management
wrought-iron grill work at the front entrance to South Hall, through which the graduation procession walked on the East Side campus, is brought to the Smithfield campus as a memento.
Development ranks as one of the five largest in New England and provides training for more than 7,000 upper-and middlelevel managers and executives throughout the Northeast.
Evarts envisions a Center for Management Development, offering high-quality programs for professional managers in the state. The center offers eight programs for
19 8 6 The Bryant Center opens, becoming
157 participants in its first year, 1973 . 19 74 Bryant establishes the Executive
1970 A PR IL 15 , 1970 Bryant breaks ground on
the Tupper campus and the race to finish the campus facilities in just 17 months (and one day) begins. Today, Bryant has 428 acres.
Development Center. The center, with about 2,000 participants annually, now offers 22 certificate programs online as well as other services, including: business coaching, consulting, and customized training. The townhouse dormitories are built and become a coveted “privilege” for seniors. Bryant students increasingly choose to live on campus; today 87 percent of undergraduates are resident students. 19 76 William O’Hara, a practicing attor-
ney, public defender, and counsel to a congressional committee, becomes president of Bryant. He institutes an “open-door policy” and encourages dialogue with faculty and students. O C T OB E R 19 76 The Koffler Center, the new student center, is finished and named in honor of Sol Koffler, founder of American Tourister. M AY 19 70 The war in Vietnam is the big
issue on campuses across the nation. The Bryant Chapter of the Vietnam Peace Action Committee is formed, and students vote overwhelmingly to support withdrawal of U.S. forces from Vietnam. Four Bryant alumni are killed in action and at least two dozen Bryant alumni serve with distinction. Under President Nelson Gulski, the Bryant community passes through this challenging period with dignity and respect for all individuals involved.
20
BRYANT SPRING
2013
19 7 7 The Graduate School increases
enrollment to 780 students. About 85 percent of the evening MBA program participants hold jobs, nearly half in the manufacturing industry.
the principal gathering place for the college community. 19 8 7 The Class of 1987 donates the brick pathway around the Archway. According to legend, students who pass through the Archway before Commencement will not graduate. 1 9 8 8 Bryant celebrates its 125 th
anniversary, growing from a proprietary, skills- oriented school to a comprehensive institution of higher education awarding graduate degrees and providing extensive services to the business community. AUGU ST 1 , 19 8 9 William E. Trueheart,
an eminent scholar and leader at Harvard University, becomes the sixth president of Bryant. the time, Trueheart is the first and only Black college president in New England.
1990 19 9 4 Bryant’s business programs receive
accreditation from AACSB International — The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Only 5 percent of colleges and universities worldwide earn this prestigious accreditation. The Bryant Indians become the Bryant Bulldogs after a community-wide referendum. 19 9 5 Civil rights leader Rosa Louise
Parks, a Black woman who made history when she refused to give up her seat on a public bus, receives an honorary degree.