Wentworth Institute of Technolgy

Wentworth Institute of Technology was opened on September 25th, 1911, years after the death of its founder, Arioch Wentworth. Wentworth himself stated in his will that the university was meant to “furnish education in the mechanical arts.” Wentworth’s beginning was rife with family drama however, when Wentworth’s daughter contested his will, which left his whole estate to the creation of Wentworth Institute. A settlement was reached one year after Wentworth’s death, and it was decided his estate would be split 50-50 between Wentworth’s daughter and the Wentworth Board of Trustees. Wentworth opened its doors to 244 students, all boys between the ages of 16-19. Wentworth was heavily involved with the United States military in both World War I and World War II, assisting the Air Force and gaining the nickname “Camp Wentworth”. Mr. H. Russell Beatty became the first president of the institute in 1953, and this would allow the university to develop its first Associate’s Degree in 1956. In the following year, 300 men would be awarded this degree. During a sixteen year time span (1963-1979), Wentworth possessed one of the only nuclear engineering programs in the country. Women were first admitted to the institute in 1972, and the current female population has risen to 18%. Today, Wentworth is composed of four Colleges: the College of Architecture, Design and Construction Management, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, and the College Professional and Continuing Education. Wentworth is steadily climbing the Regional University rankings, having moved up 8 spots in the last year. In engineering rankings, Wentworth has moved up from 44 to 35. Wentworth is also ranked 70 in Best Value Schools, where it was once ranked 81. Wentworth has a cooperative education program in which students apply classroom education in a professional setting. Co-op is a requirement to graduate from Wentworth; students have to complete two co-op semesters. The current undergraduate population is 4,265. While Wentworth’s mascot today is the leopard, this was not always the case. Wentworth’s mascot was “The Technician” up until 1969, when it was changed to a fiercer representative.