A Look Back, Feb. 13

50 Years Ago

■It has come to light that dozens of graduates of the University of Massachusetts School of Education have been awarded doctorates in less than two years, while attending few or no courses. Some such students have included faculty at the school, university administrators, relatives of top UMass officials, and people in influential governmental positions outside the university.

■Trustees of the University of Massachusetts have invited the John F. Kennedy Library Corp. to consider locating its proposed library and museum on the university’s Boston or Amherst campus. UMass President Robert Wood sent a letter yesterday to the president of the library corporation, Stephen Smith, in which he stated, “We are prepared to do everything within our authority to ensure the rapid construction of the complex.”

25 Years Ago

■An investment group based in Northampton has offered $268 million for Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc., the Vermont ice cream maker. Meadowbrook Lane Capital of Northampton is leading a group of investors portraying themselves as capable of maintaining the progressive business practices Ben & Jerry’s has followed.

■The eldest brother of the late Denis Perlman, founder and owner of Silverscape Designs jewelry stores here and in Amherst, has taken the reins of one of the area’s most successful retail businesses. Wallace G. Perlman, 57, the oldest of seven siblings, said Thursday he will manage the business as the representative of the Perlman family, which inherited the business.

10 Years Ago

■Easthampton’s public water supply has been named best in the nation, just months after repeated incidents of high levels of total coliform bacteria resulted in state intervention. The city’s water took the top prize at the “Great American Taste Test” held each year by the National Rural Water Association in Washington.

■South Hadley will become the fourth community in Franklin and Hampshire counties to raise the tobacco-buying age from 18 to 21 after adopting a measure that goes into effect April 1. It’s a trend that Michele Komosa, director of the Tobacco Free Community Partnership for Hampshire & Franklin counties, expects to catch on.