The History of Mount Ida College
Mount Ida College, located in Newton, Massachusetts, was a private college that operated from 1899 until its closure in 2018. Throughout its history, the institution underwent several transformations, adapting to changing educational needs and societal trends. This article explores the evolution of Mount Ida College, from its origins as a finishing school for women to its final years as a co-educational college offering bachelor's and graduate programs.
Founding and Early Years (1899-1939)
Mount Ida was originally founded in 1899 by George Franklin Jewett and his wife, Abigail Fay Jewett, as a small private secondary school for women. The school was located on a property in Newton Corner named Mount Ida. In 1907, George Franklin Jewett, Mount Ida’s first Principal, introduced a new curriculum of “Advanced Studies,” marking the beginning of a tradition of educational innovation. The school flourished under Dr. Jewett’s leadership until his death in 1926. Mrs. Abigail Fay Jewett then took over the leadership of the school, followed by her son-in-law, Mr. C. Frederick McGill. The Mount Ida School for Girls steadily grew, adding a junior college curriculum in 1917.
However, the financial strain of the Great Depression led to the school's closure in 1935.
Relocation and Expansion (1939-1976)
A new chapter began in 1939 when Dr. William Fitts Carlson bought the title of the Mount Ida School and relocated the school to its present location on the former Robert Gould Shaw II estate. The 72-acre campus was located in Newton, Massachusetts. Shaw commissioned Boston architect James Lovell Little Junior to build a carriage house and horse stable in 1910; this building was subsequently refurbished and was known as Holbrook Hall. The building known as Shaw Hall, which became the nucleus for the Mount Ida campus, was also commissioned by Shaw and designed by Little in 1912.
Dr. Carlson expanded the curriculum to include new career programs and liberal arts offerings. Enrollment increased from 100 students in 1940 to 342 students in 1948. In 1956, a two-story dormitory designed by architect Albert C. Rugo was added to Shaw Hall.
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Transition to a College (1960-1982)
In 1960, Dr. William Fitts Carlson was succeeded by a new administration headed by his sons, Dr. F. Roy Carlson as President, and Dr. Edward W. Carlson as Vice President. In 1961, Mount Ida Junior College received associate degree-granting authority from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Mount Ida officially became a college in 1967. In 1970, Mount Ida was fully accredited by the New England Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. The school was later renamed as Mount Ida Junior College.
In 1972, Mount Ida became a co-educational institution, which was a logical step since many Vietnam veterans were attending college in the 1970s thanks to the G.I. Bill.
Baccalaureate Programs and Mergers (1976-1989)
In 1976, Dr. Bryan E. Carlson, the nephew of Dr. F. Roy Carlson and the grandson of Dr. William Fitts Carlson, became the sixth president of the College. Mount Ida developed its first comprehensive Master Plan during the late 1970s, and the introduction of baccalaureate programs represented the most profound and fundamental objective in the entire plan. In 1982, the institution’s corporate name became Mount Ida College as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts granted initial baccalaureate degree authority, and the first Senior College curriculum was introduced. Massachusetts allowed Mount Ida to grant three bachelor's degrees as Mount Ida filed to drop the "Junior" part of the college name.
In the same tradition of educational innovation that had occurred through the leadership of George Franklin Jewett, Mount Ida pioneered a new curriculum structure for the completion of baccalaureate studies with the introduction of its innovative Two Plus Two Undergraduate program. In 1984 Mount Ida established a Two Plus Two undergraduate system that consists of a Junior College Division and a Senior College Division. Upon program completion of an associate degree students may continue to earn a bachelor’s degree. The Senior College Division structure the curriculum to allow students to maximize their credit transfer. Qualified students can transfer all associate degree credits and continue with junior standing in at least one and sometimes more than one baccalaureate program.
Under Dr. Bryan E. Carlson’s leadership, Mount Ida grew significantly in the 1980s by implementing a series of “mutual growth” mergers with three Boston area institutions. In 1987-1988 Mount Ida acquired Chamberlayne Junior College, which was established in 1892 as the Chamberlayne School by Miss Catherine J. Chamberlayne. In 1932 Chamberlayne received accreditation as a junior college. It is now known as the Chamberlayne School of Design and Merchandising of Mount Ida College and offers various two and four year programs in design and merchandising.
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The Coyne Electrical and Technical School was established in 1896 by James Coyne. The Coyne Electrical and Technical School remained in Boston and merged with Chamberlayne Junior College. In 1988-1989 Mount Ida acquired the New England Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences, which was established in 1907 by A. Johnson Dodge. In 1969 Dr. William H. Crawford received degree-granting privileges for an Associate in Science degree in Funeral Service. In the late 1980s it merged with Chamberlayne Junior College and the New England Institute of Funeral Service Education.
Academic Programs and Mission
Mount Ida’s programs of study, in both the Junior and Senior College Divisions, are in keeping with and serve to reinforce the mission and purposes of the institution. All associate degree programs prepare students for immediate employment and/or for transfer into the Senior College Division or another institution for further study and/or a further degree. Mount Ida’s Two-Plus-Two approach to undergraduate education guarantees eligible junior and community college graduates acceptance of the associate degree as a unit of study and admission into at least one bachelor degree program with full junior year status, in the Senior College division. All bachelor degree programs prepare students for significant employment or career advancement opportunities or for further study at graduate or professional schools.
Mount Ida College was a regional, co-educational college with 1500 students, over forty majors, and a graduate program designed for working adults.
The Gallery at Mount Ida College held exhibitions of regional, national, and international fine artists and designers. The Gallery had featured works in photography, painting, sculpture, video, and a variety of other art forms.
Financial Struggles and Closure (2018)
In April 2018, UMass Amherst announced plans to acquire the Newton campus. Mount Ida College announced April 6 that it will shut down at the end of this academic year, with its campus becoming part of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Under the deal, Mount Ida, which had struggled with consecutive years of operating deficits and a dwindling endowment, will shut down and its 1,500 students will be offered automatic admission to UMass Dartmouth. Its 280 faculty and staff members will be laid off. The announcement comes as many small, private schools struggle in an increasingly competitive environment.
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The closure was due, in part, to deferred maintenance of its campus buildings and systems. There had been safety issues, accessibility deficiencies, non-functioning building systems, leaks and general deterioration. Demonstrating that urgency, a city order closed a dormitory for correction of safety issues. The revenue drop from losing half of the class of 2012 remained a significant problem for a small tuition-dependent college with little endowment to draw upon, and these losses and grew for the three years that that class progressed through to graduation in 2016.
The college contemplated mergers with several colleges, including Lasell College. After announcing a potential merger, both schools called off the deal last month. When that fell through, Reiss said, the only alternative to bankruptcy became a sale of the campus to UMass Amherst.
The sale of Mount Ida College's Newton campus closed Wednesday. Over the past weekend, the college held its final graduation ceremony.
Aftermath and Legacy
UMass Amherst announced that it intends to continue one Mount Ida program, the veterinary tech program, even after all the Mount Ida students graduate. Mount Ida says 92 percent of its students, 1,074 out of 1,164, have a program they can get into that would be run by UMass, Cape Cod Community College or Regis College.
The Mount Ida College Records contain the historical records of the college, including photographs, yearbooks, course catalogs, student scrapbooks and memorabilia, publicity materials, the college’s web and social media presence, and artifacts that document Mount Ida’s athletic programs.
The Shaw Estate and its Historical Significance
Located in Newton, Massachusetts, Mount Ida College was located on a 72-acre campus that once belonged to William Sumner Appleton (1840-1903), father of William Sumner Appleton Jr. The estate was transferred to Robert Gould Shaw II after Appleton's death. Shaw commissioned Boston architect James Lovell Little Junior to build a carriage house and horse stable in 1910; this building was subsequently refurbished and was known as Holbrook Hall. The building known as Shaw Hall, which became the nucleus for the Mount Ida campus, was also commissioned by Shaw and designed by Little in 1912.
Born into the heart of Boston Brahmin society (Boston’s elite class), Robert Gould Shaw II (1872-1930) had a life of great opportunity, but full of tragedy. Robert was born in Boston and was a first cousin of Robert Gould Shaw, the famed military officer who accepted command of the first all-Black regiment (the 54th Massachusetts) in the Northeast. Robert II had a life of leisure, and enjoyed his position in society by drinking and enjoying elite sporting events. He became a wealthy landowner around Boston, and international polo player of the Myopia Hunt Club in the North Shore. He gained a reputation for alcohol abuse and promiscuity and divorced his first wife after just four years, she would later move to England and marry Waldorf Astor, and become the first woman seated as a Member of Parliament. The couple’s only son Robert Gould Shaw III followed his mother to England, but was eventually imprisoned there for six months for “homosexual offenses”. His alcoholism and his mother’s death, may have led to his suicide in 1970.
Robert Gould II in Boston, remarried and purchased land in Oak Hill, Newton to build a country estate. He hired James Lovell Little Jr. to design the Tudor style property with a mansion, and various outbuildings including a carriage house and stable. As the Gilded Age gave way to the Progressive Era and eventually the Great Depression, the Shaw fortune collapsed. Shaw died in New York in 1930. The estate was later purchased as the new home to Mt. Ida College, now a regional campus of UMass.
As another piece of this interesting family’s history… Louis Agassiz Shaw II, one of Robert’s four children in his second marriage, had all the opportunities of his father, as he attended Harvard, had a sizable bank account, but was a recluse and had some mental issues and paranoia. Like his elder half-brother Robert Gould Shaw III, and father, Louis struggled with depression and alcoholism and in 1964, he strangled his 64-year-old maid, who he said was plotting to murder him in his sleep. He confessed but plead not guilty; he was committed to Danvers State Hospital and later McLean, where he lived for 23 years until his death. After which, much of his art collection, which he intended to donate to the Fogg Museum at Harvard, was discovered to be fakes.
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