Bridgewater State University
Bridgewater State University
BSU - A Wealth of Undergraduate Research Opportunities
Among the university's best-known qualities are the opportunities undergraduates have to gain hands-on research experience, which is so critically important as they prepare for the next stages In their lives..
Our highly talented web team produced a superb video and we share it below:
BSU Student Creates a New Bear
We're grateful to Ms. Heather Harris Michonski, G '26, of BSU's Office of Enrollment, Marketing and Communications, for sharing the photo and excerpts of the story of a new Bear insulation on campus, this on the lawn of Harrington Hall,
What started out as a random sketch turned into a creative, door-opening opportunity for Gabriel Da Silva, ’29.
Earlier this year, Gabriel visited the Wallace L. Anderson Gallery in Bridgewater State University’s Art Center. Inspired by the art hanging on the walls, he took out his sketchpad and began to draw.
His artwork caught the attention of art professor Sarah Washburn who also happened to be there.
“I wasn’t drawing it for a class. I just really liked the paintings in the gallery and tried to sketch what I was viewing,” Gabriel said. “She saw what I was doing and really liked it.”
So much so, Professor Washburn encouraged him to show BSU Director of Collections and Exhibitions Jay Block what he had created.
That’s when Mr. Block shared that the Ricciardi College of Business had requested a business-themed bear statue be installed in front of Harrington Hall to celebrate Bridgewater State’s 185th anniversary.
“I like designing things and thought it would be a really fun challenge to design a bear and leave a little impact on campus,” Mr. Gabriel said.
He was thrilled when he learned his submission was selected for the commission, and that he would be adding to the collection of painted mascots that appear across campus.
Mr. Gabriel’s bright blue, metallic bear was installed in mid-August in front of Harrington Hall, near the Boyden quadrangle.
Intentional with his design, Mr. Gabriel made sure to incorporate the three major areas within the Ricciardi College of Business: finance, marketing, and aviation.
The artistic elements include wings, red stripes with arrows, and stock exchange symbols.
“My objective was that everyone sees their own majors in the bear. I wanted it to be captivating but not overly busy. I wanted to create a design that captures the attention of the people who see it,” Mr. Gabriel said.
Because of the size of the project, Mr. Gabriel couldn’t paint the bear at his Stoughton home.
Instead, Ray “Rod” Delano, a painting and maintenance foreman, allowed him to use the shop within the BSU Operations Department.
“Rod was incredibly helpful, and very patient, too. I am grateful to him and his team,” Mr. Gabriel said.
Mr. Block echoed the sentiment.
“He hosted Gabe over the summer in his shop, allowing him to paint the bear there. It would not have happened without his help,” Mr. Block said.
As a new semester has begun, Mr. Gabriel looks forward to fellow students viewing his artwork.
“Seeing it there, knowing people will look at it, that I painted it myself, that I was able to do that … it’s really cool. It’s very surreal,” he said.
A Message from President Clark on
BSU's Spirit Committee
Best Wishes on a BSU Retirement
We're pleased to share below excerpts of a story recently authored by Mr. Brian Benson, G '23:
Ms. Geraldine McGlone, seen above with President Clark, sought stability when she accepted a position in student accounts at Bridgewater State.
She had worked for a bank that was sold and didn’t want to stay in an industry prone to mergers.
More than two decades later, it’s safe to say Ms. McGlone found a lasting professional home and so much more.
“When I first came, it was the atmosphere, the students, learning something new and a different form of the things I had always done,” said Ms. McGlone, who retired in July from her accounting career.
“Over 22 years, it is the Office of Student Accounts that has kept me here.”
Ms. McGlone worked in a fast-paced job on the front lines directly serving students. She was also a liaison for companies who paid for their employees’ tuition.
She appreciated being acknowledged by graduating students who recognized how support comes from all corners of the university.
Seeing students grow from unsure new Bears to confident seniors was incredibly rewarding, she said.
“I’ve been touched really personally in small ways,” she said. “I remember the students when it's their first day and they came in with their mother, and I remember when they graduate and watching them change.”
29 years ago last month, a number of BSU people had boarded the train in Bridgewater that morning in 1997, including then-vice president for administration Dr. Dana Mohler-Faria, left, (later our eleventh president), and Mr. Mike Gomes, then vice president of finance, right.
President Adrian Tinsley, holding a banner produced in honor of the historic occasion, had arrived at South Station from north of Boston, where she was attending a conference.
Next year will mark the 30th anniversary of the restoration of commuter rail in this region.
"Not to be Ministered unto but to Minister"
Dr. Thomas Turner, professor emeritus of history at Bridgewater State University
Dr. Turner, author of the 2010 history of Bridgewater, shared the details of how the commuter rail line came back to this region of the state:
An important area of historical focus in the late 1970s was the plan to return railroad service to Bridgewater.
The Old Colony Line had made its last run in 1958, but a station on campus would allow students and faculty members to commute to campus by rail as they had been doing since the
1840s.
In agreeing to reinstate the line, the MBTA also agreed to build an underpass connecting East and West Campus and replacing the existing footbridge, built in 1979.
Students often ignored the bridge and cut holes in the fence to cross the tracks at ground level [in 1987, a full decade before trains began again, the MBTA each fall operated a passenger train from Cape Cod to Boston, and a BSU student, who was deaf and unable to hear the train's whistle, lost his life when he was struck by the train].
The trains began running again on September 26, 1997.
Then-Vice President Mohler-Faria and Associate Vice President Miguel Gomes, had taken the first train in Bridgewater, while Dr. Tinsley waited at South Station in Boston [as explained above].
Reflecting back on that day, President Emerita Tinsley said that Dr. Mohler-Faria drove a hard bargain with the Massa-
chusetts Bay Transit Authority.
He, in turn, recalled that while the college wanted the station on campus, he was determined to have the MBTA provide a number of mitigation measures.
These included a new access road to the train station and
a parking lot [originally, in the beginning, the MBTA had plans to construct its Bridgewater station where the old MBTA station was, now the home of the Burger King restaurant in Bridgewater].
While this obviously benefitted train patrons, it also provided additional access via East Campus and West Campus for Bridgewater students, faculty and staff.
After some intense persuasion from Dr. Mohler-Faria, the MBTA agreed to construct a tunnel between West Campus and East Campus [now the Turchon Tunnel, named for a BSU alumna and member of the Board of Trustees].
As noted above, in 1979, BSU had constructed a bridge crossing the railroad tracks but it was very rarely used because of its height and the fact that wet weather made ascending and descending difficult.
This new tunnel provided additional access to West Campus,
where Shea-Durgin Hall had opened in1965, plus the more recently built Moakley Center, Burnell Hall, Miles Hall, DiNardo Hall and East Campus Commons, for Bridgewater students, faculty and staff.
The MBTA also built a new parking lot for Bridgewater students across Route 104 on land owned by the transporta-
tion authority.
Additionally, and very significantly for future electronic expansion, the MBTA laid a fiber optic cable from Bridgewater all the way to the Prudential Center in Boston.
Retired Faculty Club Upcoming Luncheons
November 4, 2026 Dr. Michael Kryzanek, Emeritus, Political Science – Results of the 2026 midterm elections
Luncheon at noon – Heritage Room, Maxwell Library
February 3, 2027 Dr. John Kucich, English, Presentation on Native Americans in Littleton, MA during Thoreau’s time.
Luncheon at noon - Heritage Room, Maxwell Library
March 3, 2027 Ms. Jennifer Turner, Executive Director of the Robbins House, an African American Museum in Concord, MA who has taught at BSU as a VL, History Dept., and the Senior College
Luncheon at noon - Heritage Room, Maxwell Library
April 7, 2027 Dr. Orson Kingsley, Director, Archives – Tour of the BSU Archives
Luncheon at noon – Heritage Room, Maxwell Library (Tour of Archives to follow)
May 5, 2027 Retired Faculty Club Business Meeting
Luncheon at noon – Heritage Room, Maxwell Library (Business meeting to follow)
Club dues annual membership fee is $25.00
Luncheon cost is $15.00 per person
This concludes the report for Monday, October 17, 2026
Next edition: Monday, October 24, 2026