A petition from the Trustees of Tufts College dated January 20, 1955, and approved on January 28, officially changed the name of the school to Tufts University. The name change, one of President Nils Y. Wessell's original goals, was cited as both an official recognition of an already established event, and also as a recognition of a desirable direction for Tufts to move in.

History of Tufts University

Since 1955, Tufts University has continued to expand its horizons. In 1964, in one of Wessell's final acts as president, Tufts opened the Experimental College. The Ex-College, which allows students to take classes not normally found in the curriculum, has remained one of Tufts' most popular programs.

In 1977, Tufts established a five-year joint degree program with the New England Conservatory of Music. Soon after, in 1979, a similar program began with the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Also in 1979, the Tufts Center for European Studies in Talloires, France, was established in an 11th Century priory. The Tufts European Center began operation soon after.

In late 1979, Tufts made another important addition. In October, the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine opened at its original Boston campus. In 1980, the Grafton campus, built on the site of a state mental hospital, officially opened its doors.

The last two major additions to Tufts University took place in 1980 and 1981. In 1980, the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, established with a large grant from the Sackler family, opened its doors on the Boston campus of the Tufts School of Medicine. In 1981, at the Medford Campus, Tufts celebrated the opening of the School of Nutrition Science and Policy. The school was the first of its kind in the nation.

Since Tufts College was officially established in 1852, it has continued to grow and expand in new directions. From its beginnings as a small liberal arts college through its expansion into a full-scale university, Tufts has maintained a strong academic tradition and a community feel.

List of Presidents (A * indicates Acting President)

• Hosea Ballou II (1853-1861)
• Alonzo Ames Miner (1862-1875)
• Elmer Hewitt Capen (1875-1905)
• Frederick W. Hamilton (1905-1912)
• William Leslie Hooper* (1912-1914)
• Hermon Carey Bumpus (1915-1919)
• John Albert Cousens (1919-1937)
• George Stewart Miller* (1937-1938)
• Leonard Carmichael (1938-1952)
• Nils Yngve Wessell (1953-1966)
• Leonard Chapin Mead* (1966-1967)
• Burton Crosby Hallowell (1967-1976)
• Jean Mayer (1976-1992)
• John Angelo DiBaggio (1992-2001)
• Lawrence S. Bacow (2001-2011)
• Anthony P. Monanco (2011-present)