Suffolk University Firsts
Over the course of Suffolk University's hundred-plus year history, Suffolk has celebrated many "firsts." The following is a sampling of milestones related to our campus, student body, and academic programs.
Campus Firsts
- First Law School Classes took place in Gleason Archer's Roxbury living room, 1906
- First Suffolk student to pass the Bar Exam: Roland E. Brown, 1908
- First Law School graduating class: 1909
- First student publication: The Register circa 1914
- First Official Building: the Archer Building at 20 Derne Street, 1920
- Afro-American Literature Collection: established in 1971
- First International Campus: Madrid, 1995
- First Residence Hall: Smith Hall, 150 Tremont Street, 1996
- New England School of Art and Design merges with Suffolk, 1996
Firsts and Notables for African Americans
- Louis Eugene Pasco (Mother was African American, father Mexican), 1914
- Thaddeus Alexander Kitchener (born in Jamaica), 1913
- George Madison Washington, 1914
- Thomas Vreeland Jones, 1915
- Herbert L. Lyken: First black graduate of BS/BA program in 1948 and first black member of the Business School Faculty, in 1970.
- Ivorey Cobb, JD 1960: First African American appointed as NH Judge in 1964
- Manuel V. McKinney, JD 1967, First Black President of MA Trial Lawyers Association in 1969
Firsts and Notables for Asian Americans
- Shichiro Hayashi, JD 1922: Suffolk's first Asian graduate
- Harry Hom Dow, JD 1929: First Chinese-American to pass the Massachusetts Bar Exam (read more)
Firsts and Notable for Native Americans
- Nelson D. Simons, JD 1925: Suffolk's first Native American graduate (later became chief of the Mashpee Wampanoag)
- Tori Wright, JD 1988: first woman from the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe- to complete Law School
Firsts and Notables for Women
- Marian Archer MacDonald, JD 1937: Suffolk's first female law graduate
- Emma M. Cummings, JD 1942: Suffolk's second female law graduate
- Leila Lister (Maynard), BA 1943: First female valedictorian
- Ella M. Murphy, English: First woman at Suffolk to be appointed a full professor, 1959
- Kuni Kreutel: first female editor-in-chief of the Suffolk Journal (1958-1959)
- Jeanne M. Hession, JD 1956: First female law class president (1955) and first female Suffolk University trustee (1973); Vice-Chair BOT (1976-1996), making her the first woman at Suffolk to serve as a corporate officer
- Charlotte Anne Perretta, JD67: First female Associate Justice, Massachusetts Appeals Court
- Patricia McGovern, BA 1962, JD1 966, first woman to serve as chair of the Massachusetts Senate Committee on Ways and Means
- Jo Ann Renfrew, Business Administration, 1970-73, the Business School’s first full-time female faculty member
- Linda Stewart Dalianis, JD 1974: First female appointee to NH Superior Court, (1980), to chief of NH Superior Court, to NH Supreme Court (2000), and first female Chief Justice of NH Supreme Court (2010)
- Tori Wright, JD 1998: first Woman of the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe to complete law school
- Margaret McKenna: Suffolk's first female president