Concise Encyclopedia of Tufts History

Sauer, Anne

Branco, Jessica

Bennett, John

Crowley, Zachary

2000

Bouve-Boston School of Physical Education, 1942-1964

 

The Bouve-Boston School of Physical Education was affiliated with Tufts in 1942, and continued as an undergraduate professional program in the College of Special Studies until it was affiliated with Northeastern University in 1964.

The Bouve-Boston School of Physical Education was founded in 1913 with Marjorie Bouve as co-director. The school was for women with a secondary school education who wanted to teach or supervise physical education classes. From 1931 until 1942, the school was affiliated with Simmons College. A physical therapy curriculum added in the early 1920s was accredited by the national physical therapy organization in 1928.

In 1942 Bouve-Boston was affiliated with Tufts through the Division of University Extension and subsequently through the College of Special Studies. At the time, Tufts, feeling the pinch of losing enrollments to the war effort, sought programs to enroll women in order to generate income in that difficult time. Students in the school could work toward a B.S. in education with additional coursework in psychology and education. At first only qualified students, comprising those in the top one-third of their class, were permitted this option, though by 1948 most of the Bouve-Boston students were enrolled in the degree program. In 1961 a B.S. in physical therapy was added.

The school was originally located in quarters on Huntington Avenue in Boston. In the years immediately following its affiliation with Tufts, Bouve students had to commute between Boston and Medford to complete their coursework. However, in 1950 the school constructed a building with a gymnasium and classrooms on the Medford campus. In 1956 it added a dormitory for its students, named Ruth Page Sweet Hall, also in Medford. When the school disaffiliated in 1964 both of these buildings were transferred to Tufts. The gym became Lane Hall and the dormitory was renamed Hill Hall.

Throughout its affiliation with Tufts, the Bouve-Boston School struggled to find a place for itself in the Tufts community. Despite the administration's desire to place greater emphasis on the liberal arts curriculum in the program, students were segregated from the general Jackson population in separate course sections until after 1956. Bouve students were excluded from Jackson athletic teams on the grounds that their avocation would render them too competitive and exclude Jackson students from athletic opportunities. While Bouve students were permitted to participate in other student organizations in theory, it was left to the individual organizations to decide if Bouve students would be admitted.

When Nils Wessell became president of Tufts he voiced a general concern about the affiliated professional schools, including Bouve, and the lack of emphasis on liberal arts in their curricula. Following the university's self-study in 1958 he strongly advocated that Bouve restructure its course of study to a five-year plan, with four years devoted to liberal arts and the fifth providing the professional training necessary for licensure in physical education. In 1962, with the support of the trustees, Wessell presented Bouve and the other affiliated schools with the option of either adapting their curriculum to Tufts requirements and integrating fully with the university or disaffiliating from the university entirely. Bouve chose the latter option and in July of 1964 officially ceased its affiliation with Tufts and moved to Northeastern University in Boston. Students currently enrolled in the program were given the option of receiving either Tufts or Northeastern degrees, and the last student to receive a Tufts degree did so in June, 1968.

Source: LOH1; LOH2

 
 
Subject terms:
Description
  • The encyclopedia seeks to capture more than 150 years of Tufts' achievements, societal contributions and outstanding alumni and faculty in concise entries. As a source of accurate factual information, the Encyclopedia can be used by anyone interested in the history of Tufts and of the people who have made it the unique institution it is.
This object is in collection Subject Temporal Permanent URL
ID:
f1881x54h
Component ID:
tufts:UA069.005.DO.00001
To Cite:
TARC Citation Guide    EndNote
Usage:
Detailed Rights
View all images in this book
 Introduction
 Content
Numeric Entries
A
B
C
D
Dame, Lorin Low, 1838-1903
Dana, Charles A., 1881-1975
Dana Laboratory, 1963
Daniel Ounjian Prize in Economics,
Davies, Caroline Stodder, 1864-1939
Davies House, 1894
De Florez Prize in Human Engineering, 1964
de Pacheco, Kaye MacKinnon, ca. 1910-ca. 1985
Dean Hall, 1887-1963
Dean, Oliver, 1783-1871
Dearborn, Heman Allen, 1831-1897
Department of Anatomy and Cellular Biology, 1893
Department of Anesthesia, 1970
Department of Art and Art History, 1930
Department of Biochemistry, 1893
Department of Chemistry, 1882
Department of Community Health, 1930
Department of Dermatology, 1897
The Department of Economics, 1946
Department of Medicine, 1893
Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology
Department of Neurology, 1893
Department of Neuroscience, 1983
Department of Neurosurgery, 1951
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 1893
Department of Ophthamology, 1893
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, 1906
Department of Otolaryngology, 1895
Department of Pathology, 1893
Department of Pediatrics, 1930
Department of Pharmacology, 1915
Department of Physics and Astronomy, 1854
Department of Physiology, 1893
Department of Psychiatry, 1928
Department of Radiation Oncology, 1968
Department of Radiology, 1915
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, 1955
Department of Surgery, 1893
Department of Urban and Environmental Policy, 1973
Department of Urology, 1910
Dental Health Sciences Building, 1969
Dewick, Cora Alma (Polk), 1875-1977
Dewick/MacPhie Dining Hall, 1959
Dickson Professorship of English and American History, 1913
Dirlam, Arland A., 1905-1979
Dog Cart, 1900
Dolbear, Amos Emerson, 1837-1910
Donald A. Cowdery Memorial Scholarship, 1946
Dr. Benjamin Andrews Professorship of Surgery, 1987
Dr. Philip E. A. Sheridan Prize, 1977
The Drug Bust, 1970
Dudley, Henry Watson, 1831-1906
Dugger, Edward Jr., 1919-75
Durkee, Frank W., 1861-1939
Durkee, Henrietta Noble Brown, 1871-1946
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
R
S
T
U
V
W
Z
 List of Sources