Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts

MCLA was founded in 1894 as North Adams Normal School, and it offered first instruction at post-secondary level three years later. By 1897, the Normal School enrolled 32 students (29 women, 3 men) and employed 4 teachers. In 1932, North Adams Normal School became State Teachers College of North Adams, added an upper-division curriculum, and started awarding bachelor's degrees. In 1936, it instituted graduate program. In 1960, it changed its name to North Adams State College and, in 1997, to Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, reflecting its position as the public liberal arts college within the Massachusetts state university system.[1]