Middlesex University, known primarily for its
medicalA medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine.In addition to a medical degree program, some medical schools offer programs leading to a Master's Degree, Doctor of Philosophy , or other post-secondary education. Medical schools can also...
and
veterinary schoolA veterinary school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, which is involved in the education of veterinarians. To become a veterinarian one must first complete a veterinary degree...
s, operated from 1914 until 1947, first in
Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, a nexus of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Notably, Cambridge is home to two internationally prominent...
, later in
Waltham, MassachusettsWaltham is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, billed by the Chamber of Commerce as the "birthplace of the American industrial revolution", and an early center for the labor movement. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, the city was a prototype for 19th...
.
The "Middlesex College of Medicine and Surgery" was founded in 1914 by John Hall Smith, and originally located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and affiliated with the Middlesex Hospital. In 1917, Massachusetts chartered an institution named the "University of Massachusetts" with the same board of trustees.
In 1928, it moved to the Waltham campus, the present-day campus of
Brandeis UniversityBrandeis University is a private research university with a liberal arts focus, located in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate...
.
Middlesex University, known primarily for its
medicalA medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine.In addition to a medical degree program, some medical schools offer programs leading to a Master's Degree, Doctor of Philosophy , or other post-secondary education. Medical schools can also...
and
veterinary schoolA veterinary school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, which is involved in the education of veterinarians. To become a veterinarian one must first complete a veterinary degree...
s, operated from 1914 until 1947, first in
Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, a nexus of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Notably, Cambridge is home to two internationally prominent...
, later in
Waltham, MassachusettsWaltham is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, billed by the Chamber of Commerce as the "birthplace of the American industrial revolution", and an early center for the labor movement. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, the city was a prototype for 19th...
.
The "Middlesex College of Medicine and Surgery" was founded in 1914 by John Hall Smith, and originally located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and affiliated with the Middlesex Hospital. In 1917, Massachusetts chartered an institution named the "University of Massachusetts" with the same board of trustees.
In 1928, it moved to the Waltham campus, the present-day campus of
Brandeis UniversityBrandeis University is a private research university with a liberal arts focus, located in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate...
. The building which Brandeis calls "Usen Castle" or "the Castle" was originally the main building of Middlesex University.
In 1935 Middlesex College of Medicine and Surgery received authorization to grant B.A. and B.S. degrees and became "Middlesex College." In 1937 it merged with the University of Massachusetts to become "Middlesex University," with schools of medicine, liberal arts, pharmacy, podiatry, and veterinary medicine.
Middlesex University was important as a veterinary school; it was the only veterinary school in New England, and when it closed in 1947, there was none in New England until
Tufts UniversityTufts University is a private research university in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The university is home to the nation's oldest graduate school of international relations, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy....
opened
CummingsThe Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine is one of the eight colleges and schools that comprise Tufts University and is the only school of veterinary medicine in New England.-Degree programs:...
in 1978
http://www.tufts.edu/vet/about/dean.html. As of 2006, about nineteen Middlesex graduates were practicing in Massachusetts.
Middlesex University is described by a Brandeis University web page as "a university founded on the principles of equality, freedom, and scholarship, as the school maintained a student population diverse in race, color, and religion, during a time when many universities in the United States had quotas and were not as open." In particular, it freely admitted Jews during a time when most elite universities had
Jewish quotaJewish quota was a percentage that limited the number of Jews in various establishments. In particular, in 19th and 20th centuries some countries had Jewish quotas for higher education, a special case of Numerus clausus...
s, and it had many Jews among its students and faculty. Its medical school experienced difficulty securing
AMAThe American Medical Association , founded in 1847 and incorporated 1897, is the largest association of physicians and medical students in the United States. While its membership has declined in recent years, it claims approximately 20% of practicing physicians as members...
accreditation. The AMA said this was due to insufficient funds, faculty, and facilities, but some at the university believed that antisemitism played a role. In the words of C. Ruggles Smith, son of the founder:
- From its inception, Middlesex was ruthlessly attacked by the American Medical Association, which at that time was dedicated to restricting the production of physicians, and to maintaining an inflexible policy of discrimination in the admission of medical students. Middlesex, alone among medical schools, selected its students on the basis of merit, and refused to establish any racial quotas.
In 1944, a law making doctor's licensing dependent on holding an MD from an AMA-accredited medical school, and financial problems caused by World War II, made the situation of Middlesex University untenable. In 1946, the Middlesex trustees transferred the charter and campus of the university to the foundation which was to establish Brandeis, with the hope, not to be realized, that Brandeis would be able to continue the medical and veterinary schools. In 1947, Brandeis, feeling that the medical school would never be more than third-rate and that the financial burden of operating it was too heavy, closed its doors.