A pioneering evening business school for working professionals, founded 1925 and closed 1987.
Benjamin Franklin University was founded on the principles of Benjamin Franklin's doctrine of thrift and self-reliance, designed specifically for nontraditional students balancing full-time employment. The institution offered bachelor's degrees in commercial science (completed in three years) and master's degrees in commercial science, with curricula focused on accountancy and business administration. By 1981, the university had expanded to offer bachelor's and master's degrees in accountancy and financial management. Classes employed innovative teaching methods, including stereopticon slide projectors to demonstrate manufacturing processes and accounting techniques.
The university was established as the successor to Pace University's Washington campus (founded 1907) and held classes at 17th and H Streets NW before relocating to 1100 16th Street NW by 1981. Initially prohibiting Black enrollment, the university was forced to open admissions in 1964 following civil rights picketing. In its final years, stricter District of Columbia accountancy board requirements necessitated expanded liberal arts offerings and full-time faculty, costs the institution could not sustain. The university closed in August 1987 after graduating approximately 8,000 students, with records transferred to George Washington University's Special Collections Research Center.
Upon closure, Benjamin Franklin University donated $900,000 in investments, books, and equipment to George Washington University. Displaced students were permitted to enroll at George Washington University at reduced tuition. The institution's archives, spanning 1925–1994, remain housed in the Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library at George Washington University.