Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology (Franklin Cummings Tech) is a

private college Private universities and private colleges are higher education institutions not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. However, they often receive tax breaks, public student loans, and government grants. Depending on the count ...

of engineering and industrial technologies in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. It was established in 1908 with funds bequeathed in

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

's will.

History

Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology owes its existence to the vision of Benjamin Franklin. In a codicil to his

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

, dated 1789, Franklin established a 200-year plan for £1,000 (about $4,400 at the time, or about $112,000 in 2010 dollars) that he gave to the city of Boston, where he was born. For the first hundred years, the money was to serve as principal for loans to young workmen; at the end of that period, the fund's managers would divide the money, using approximately three-fourths for public works and maintaining the rest as a loan fund. When the hundred-year interval had passed, Boston decided to use the money to establish a technical school. Aided by an additional gift from industrialist

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...

and land donated by the city, the institute opened its doors in 1908. A series of murals on campus were painted by

Charles Mills Charles, Charlie or Chuck Mills may refer to: Academics * C. Wright Mills (Charles Wright Mills) (1916–1962), American academic sociologist * Charles Henry Mills Charles Henry Mills (January 29, 1873 – July 23, 1937) was an England, En ...

. In 2019, the institute announced plans to sell its three-building 1908 campus and look for a 30% larger facility. In September 2019, the institute announced a move to a new campus located on seven-tenths of an acre in the Dudley Square section of Roxbury (now renamed Nubian Square) to be closer to the neighborhoods where many of its students lived. The new building is expected to open in the autumn of 2024. In September 2020, the ''Boston Globe'' leaked that the institute was planning for a possible merger with the Wentworth Institute of Technology. The merger deal faced opposition among community members and city officials based on how the merger would affect Benjamin Franklin's ability to continue to serve low-income minority students, as well as the secretive nature of the merger negotiations themselves. In November 2020, the college's board of trustees voted to keep Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology independent and to discontinue any merger talks. In February 2022, the college announced it received a $12.5 million gift from the Cummings Foundation to advance its work in creating technical career pathways for students typically underrepresented in post-secondary education. In recognition of the transformational nature of the commitment—nearly equivalent to the school's annual operating budget—the college was renamed Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology.

Academics

, the college served approximately 870 students (61% in traditional programs and 39% through strategic partnerships and continuing education programs), with a 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio, and offered programs of study awarding certificates,

associate degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

s, and

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

s. The college is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).

References

External links

Official website

new website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benjamin Franklin Institute Of Technology Universities and colleges in Boston Universities and colleges established in 1908 1908 establishments in Massachusetts NJCAA schools Private universities and colleges in Massachusetts Technological universities in the United States