Mission & History | Lesley University

In 1909, Edith Lesley began a school to train teachers. Her progressive ideas paved the way for Lesley University, and her legacy inspires our mission today.

Our Mission

Lesley University engages students in transformative education through active learning, scholarly research, diverse forms of artistic expression, and the integration of rigorous academics with practical, professional experience, leading to meaningful careers and continuing lifelong learning. Lesley prepares socially responsible graduates with the knowledge, skills, understanding, and ethical judgment to be catalysts shaping a more just, humane, and sustainable world.

Inquiry

Lesley University is devoted to academic excellence through active teaching, engaged learning, and individual student development. We design and deliver innovative, interdisciplinary academic programs that value inspired teachers, curious learners, relevant scholarship, and real-life application.
Diversity

Our community respects, values, and benefits from the individual, demographic, and cultural differences of our students, faculty, and staff. As an academic community, our creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving approaches are shaped by this diversity. Through their varied learning experiences, Lesley students develop the tools to effectively interact with diverse populations and strive for social justice and equity.
Community

Learning is an individual and collective endeavor that involves students, educators, families, and communities. We believe in the power of collaboration and its impact on personal and social development.
Citizenship

Higher educational institutions have a responsibility to prepare their graduates to participate in the cultural, political, and economic life of their community, nation, and world. This democratic ideal is reflected in Lesley’s academic environment that encourages scholarship, freedom of expression, and the open exchange of ideas.

"I plan for us to be different; to consider the individual of basic importance; to inculcate the ideal of gracious living; and to foster the traditions of American democracy."

Edith Lesley Wolfard, Founder

Our History

The school was founded in 1909 by Edith Lesley (1872-1953), the eldest daughter of a working class family from Maine. After working as a kindergarten teacher and taking classes at Radcliffe College, she opened her own school in 1909. Her goal: to prepare teachers for the growing kindergarten movement. The first classes were held in her family’s home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Where It All Began

The first classes were held in 1909 in Edith Lesley’s family home at 29 Everett Street. Today, the president’s office is housed there.

Old black and white photo of Harvard Square. Horses pull wagons in front of shops.

The 1930s

During this time, at the peak of the Great Depression, Lesley's tuition was $110 per semester.

The 1940s

In 1943, Massachusetts granted the authority to confer Bachelor of Science in Education degrees. The name was changed to Lesley College.

The 1950s

Lesley began offering master’s degree programs in 1953, and in 1954 opened a coeducational graduate school.

The 1960s

Like their peers across the country, Lesley students staged a strike in 1968, seeking changes in curriculum, curfew, scheduling, and living arrangements.

The 1970s

The college added programs in special education, counseling psychology, expressive therapies, creative arts in learning, and degree-completion programs for adult learners.

The 1980s

In 1982, the Threshold Program—a two-year residential certificate program for young adults with diverse learning needs—was started.

three students sit at tables with a calculus textbook and calculator

The 1990s

The first PhD program in education was launched. Today, Lesley offers six PhD programs in areas ranging from education to expressive therapies to counseling and psychology.

Wispy clouds and a blue sky over Lawrence Hall.

The 2000s

During this time, the university entered a partnership with the Episcopal Divinity School to share its historic Brattle Street campus.

How Far We’ve Grown

In 1909, a half-dozen students gathered for the first time in Edith Lesley’s living room. As of the 2015-2016 school year, 7,536 students were enrolled in four schools.

Valuing the Individual

From the start, Edith Lesley emphasized the value of the individual. She believed that an education should include not only intellectual development but also social and spiritual growth. She felt strongly that education was the bedrock of democracy.

Among her most important principles was the integration of theory and practice. The young women of the Lesley School applied what they were learning in local schools, gaining classroom experience in these “laboratories for learning.”

Expanding Academic Offerings

The school flourished. In 1912, Edith Lesley married Harvard-educated engineer Merl Wolfard, and they added buildings for classroom and dormitory space. New courses were offered. By the mid 20^th century, the Lesley School had grown beyond its roots. It became Lesley College in 1944, and quickly became known for excellence in teacher training.

A graduate school was added in the 1950s and within 10 years male students were enrolled in graduate education programs. (The undergraduate college remained a single-sex institution until 2005.) The 1980s and ’90s saw academic offerings expanded to include the social sciences, human services, and the fine arts. In 2000, Lesley College became Lesley University. The Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences was established.

Around the time that Edith Lesley opened her school, Boston artist Roy Atherton Davidson founded the School of Practical Arts in 1912. Davidson sought an alternative to the typical art training of his day. His school grew into the Art Institute of Boston, and became part of Lesley in 1998. It was renamed the Lesley University College of Art and Design in 2013.

Perissem ni Perstitissem.
I Had Perished Had I Not Persisted.

The Lesley Motto

A Forward-Thinking Approach

Edith Lesley’s innovative ideas continue to guide the university she founded. Today, Lesley University is committed to a distinctly human-centered mission: to empower individuals to create positive change in the world. The lives and careers of more than 90,000 Lesley alumni worldwide are a testimony to her enduring legacy.

Social Justice Roots

Edith Lesley’s progressive ideals led to her involvement with immigrant settlement houses in Cambridge and Boston in the early 1900s.

Miss Lesley’s Curriculum

Early classes for prospective kindergarten teachers featured weaving, clay modeling, folk dance, art appreciation, music, drawing, design, and nature studies.

Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts

The Panama Connection

Edith Lesley’s father worked for the Panama railroad in the 1870s. He met famed naturalist Louis Agassiz, and sent him specimens that are now part of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University.

Lesleyan article about Lesley's gnome mascot

The First ‘Mascot’

A gnome from Edith Lesley’s knick-knack collection was the unofficial mascot. Today, thankfully, our sports teams’ mascot is the Lesley Lynx.

‘Loyal Lesley Daughters’

That’s the name of a school song written in the 1950s, when Lesley was a single-sex college. (Enrollment was later opened to male undergraduates in 2005.)

Enlarging the Campus

In 1973, the college completed its “urban academic village,” a quadrangle with a library, dorm space, academic offices, and classrooms.

Expanding the University's Presence in Porter Square

In 1994, Lesley purchased the Porter Exchange building in Porter Square, which now houses the Graduate School of Education.

First Online Degree Program Launches

The university began its first online degree program in 1997—an 11-course Technology in Education master’s degree program.

Ramping up the Arts

In 1998, the university acquired the Art Institute of Boston, whose roots go back to 1912 when it was known as the School of Practical Art.

lesley university largely written in chalk

Becoming a University

In 2000, Lesley College became Lesley University, with two undergraduate and two graduate schools and three campus locations.

A New Home for the Arts in Cambridge

In 2015, the newly renamed Lesley University College of Art and Design moved into the Lunder Arts Center, comprising new studio, gallery, and classroom spaces.