Fairfield University the Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions. In 1941, Rev. James H. Dolan, S.J., Provincial for the New England Province of the Society of Jesus, received written permission from Bishop Maurice F. McAuliffe of the Hartford Archdiocese to establish a Jesuit high school and college in the southwestern area of Connecticut. Fairfield University was officially founded in 1942 when the Jesuits acquired the two contiguous estates of the Brewster Jennings and Walter Lashar families. Upon its founding, it became the 26th Jesuit college/university in the United States. In the same year, Rev. James H. Dolan, S.J. appointed the Rev.
Commencement at Central Connecticut State University Commencement at Central Connecticut State University Central Connecticut State University's annual undergraduate commencement exercises are held each May at the XL Center in Hartford. At present, this is the only occasion upon which bachelor's degrees are conferred by the university. Since 1989, a separate graduation ceremony has been held for recipients of postgraduate degrees. Additional midyear undergraduate commencements were held at the end of the fall terms from 1988 to 1993 and at several other points in the university's history. From 1884 to 1994, Spring commencement was held on the CCSU campus in New Britain, but due to a lack