Bridgewater State University
Bridgewater State University
When the Snow was Deep, A Challenge from Katie McManus, '28,
Accepted by President Clark
A BSU Videographer was there one day a few weeks ago when BSU sophomore Katie McManus went to Boyden Hall with a challenge for
President Clark, '83. See the video below for the full story:
On a warmer topic . . .
When March finally arrived, members of the BSU family traveled south as they do annually to meet with alumni and friends in Sarasota, Naples and Delray Beach.
The trip was organized by the staff of the university's Office of Alumni Relations and this year, as in past years, was led by President Clark and Chief Development Officer Ellen Cuttle Oliver, '82, G '89.
"Our gathering at the Aloft Hotel Backyard on Sunday evening in Sarasota was the perfect way to start off our trip in sunny Florida," was a message posted on Facebook.
"Alumni and friends enjoyed appetizers and drinks while mixing and mingling over memories shared from their Bridgewater State days. What a great way to kick off BSU Alumni in Florida 2026!"
Below is a photo from the Sarasota event:
BSU's Dr. Emily Field at U.S. Postal Service's Black Heritage Series Event Honoring Renowned Author Phyllis Wheatley
We're grateful to Ms. Heather Harris Michonski, G '26, senior communications manager in BSU's Office of Enrollment, Marketing and Communications, for sharing with us a story written by her colleague, Brian Benson G '23, about Dr. Emily Field, professor of English and African American Studies, who was invited to speak at an event in Boston sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service's "Black Heritage Series."
The renowned author Phyllis Wheatley, who, among other literary distinctions, in 1773 became the first African American and one of the first women to publish a book of poetry in this country.
You read Mr. Benson's article here:
In a related story, back in February of 2003 BSU's Theatre Department presented a play in the Horace Mann Auditorium entitled The Trial of Phyllis Wheatley, with the entire cast recruited from BSU faculty, staff, alumni and students.
Below is a photo of a rehearsal:
Actors in the Phillis Wheatley play performed at Bridgewater State College on February 7th and 8th are with author Ronald Wheatley of Scituate (second from left) and Director (and Professor) Stephen Levine of Hingham (left). Ms. Shannon Stanton, playing Phillis Wheatley, Mr. Evan James, as Nathaniel Wheatley, and Mr. Harold Taylor, right, as John Wheatley, listen intently to the advise of the author and director. (Staff photo by Tara Bricking. Saved in photo1 and adv. feat) (Photo by /MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
Work Continues on New Home of the
College of Education and Health Studies
In June, 2021, then-governor Charlie Baker came to BSU to officiate at a ceremony
celebrating the beginning of what a Bridgewater State press release called "The most significant building renovation project in the last half century at this university."
With $25 million from the state and $14.1 million from BSU, work got underway to build a new home for BSU's College of Education and Health Sciences.
Last week we took our video camera over to East Campus and filmed, from a safe distance, the construction work in progress. You can see the brief video here:
The College of Education and Health Sciences will be located in Burnell Hall
and Hart Hall.
We should mention that the name "Burnell" recognizes Martha Mae Burnell, who in 1895 joined the teaching staff at the "Model School" at then Bridgewater State Normal School, where aspiring BSU juniors and seniors taught grades one through six (in the photo below - Ms. Burnell stands at top, far right, in 1906 yearbook).
Miss Burnell was here in 1925 when the Model School moved into its then-new location on Grove Street (Harrington Hall has been its name since 1986) and, in 1978, moved to East Campus and a new home, which, as reported above, is now undergoing reconstruction.
After 43 years at Bridgewater State, Ms. Burnell retired in 1938, writing in the college year a "goodbye" essay to the school she had come to love, a school she called that "wonderfully burning forge of education."
This concludes the report for Monday, March 16, 2026