Connecticut are Quinnipiac University, Fairfield University, Central Connecticut State University, Sacred Heart University, and the University of Hartford. The name "Connecticut" originated with the Mohegan word "quonehtacut", meaning "place of long tidal river". Connecticut's official nickname is "The Constitution State", adopted in 1959 and based on its colonial constitution of 1638–1639 which was the first in America and, arguably, the world. Connecticut is also unofficially known as "The Nutmeg State," whose origin is unknown. It may have come from its sailors returning from voyages with nutmeg, which was a very valuable spice in the 18th and 19th centuries. It may have
Connecticut State University System is at the highest level in the past two decades. Central Connecticut is the oldest public institution of higher education in Connecticut. It was established in 1849 as a "normal school", an institution whose sole purpose was to train teachers. The three other CSU institutions also were established as normal schools: Eastern Connecticut in 1889, Southern Connecticut State University in 1893 and Western Connecticut in 1903. In 1959, the four institutions were renamed "state colleges" to reflect their expanded curricula and missions. Twenty-four years later, in 1983, the colleges became universities in recognition of their greater mission and strategies. Today,