Bradford College was a college in the part of Haverhill, Massachusetts, that was once the town of Bradford. Founded in 1803, Bradford College began as Bradford Academy, one of the earliest coeducational institutions in New England. In 1836, Bradford began educating women exclusively. By 1932, the school had grown from a secondary school and became Bradford Junior College. In 1971 Bradford became authorized to grant bachelor's degrees. The new Bradford College began admitting men again that same year. Bradford College specialized in the creative arts and social sciences, and had one of the oldest alum associations in the country.
On November 19, 1999, its board of trustees announced that the 197-year-old liberal arts institution would close in May 2000. The former campus was later home to Northpoint Bible College from 2008 to 2026.
Contents
History
Bradford College traces its origins to Bradford Academy, which was founded in 1803. The academy was incorporated in 1804. Many of Bradford's early graduates became Christian missionaries.
In 1932, Bradford Academy became Bradford Junior College, a liberal arts junior college for women leading to a bachelor's degree. The college became coeducational, and the name changed to Bradford College in 1972.
During the 1990s, annual budget shortfalls of more than $1 million, combined with declining enrollment and revenues and resulting losses due to competition from larger regional institutions, sealed the school's fate. In 1997, the school incurred an $18 million debt when it refinanced old debt and sought funds to build new dormitories.
After 197 years, Bradford College was closed in 2000, leaving 33 full-time professors and 133 employees without jobs.
In late 2007, the remaining endowment of $3.6 million was awarded to Hampshire College, a liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts.
Property sold
An affiliate of Hobby Lobby stores and its founder David Green, purchased the former Bradford College campus in 2007 and operated Northpoint Bible College there from 2008 until 2026.
Presidents
Marion Coats Graves (1918-1927)
Katharine Denworth (1927–1939), graduate of Swarthmore with a doctorate from Columbia
Dorothy M. Bell (1940–1967), degrees in classics from Oberlin and Columbia
Robert M. Vogel (1968–1972)
Jack L. Armstrong (1972–1976)
Arthur E. Levine (1982–1989)
Joe Short (1989–1998)
Jean Scott (1998–2000)
Notable alumni
George H. Atkinson, missionary in Oregon
Sarah Charlesworth, artist
Alice Blanchard Coleman, missionary society leader and writer
Andre Dubus III, author, son of Bradford faculty Andre Dubus; attended briefly
Esther Forbes, author of Johnny Tremain and other works
Ann Hasseltine Judson, 19th-century Christian missionary to Asia
John Taylor Jones, early missionary to Thailand
Lucy Goodale Thurston, 19th-century Christian Hawaiian missionary
Portia Washington Pittman, daughter of Booker T. Washington & the institution's first African-American graduate
Notable faculty
Douglas Huebler, artist
Andre Dubus, writer
Helen Augusta Whittier, taught art history