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.
Western Connecticut State University students, including 4,422 full-time and 1,530 part-time students. Graduate student enrollment in fall 2013 totaled 510, including 57 full-time and 453 part-time students. 5,119 students applied to the university (including 1,294 transfers). 2,191 (including 748 transfers) were accepted. Of those, 1,207 (including 451 transfers) enrolled as new full-time students. Most of the students at WestConn come from the Tri-State Area comprising Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. Nearly all commuter students come from western Connecticut and Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester counties in New York. According to the university, students claiming Connecticut residency come from 99 of the state's 169 municipalities.