Stevenson University is a private university in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, with two campuses, one in Stevenson and one in Owings Mills. The university enrolls approximately 3,615 undergraduate and graduate students. Formerly known as Villa Julie College, the name was changed to Stevenson University in 2008.
History
Founding
Stevenson University was founded in Maryland as Villa Julie College in 1947 by the Roman Catholic women's religious order Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur as a one-year school training women to become medical secretaries. The college was named for Saint Julie Billiart, foundress of the Sisters of Notre Dame.
Stevenson's Greenspring Valley campus is in the Green Spring Valley area within northwestern portion of Baltimore County. It is located on the former estate of the George Carroll Jenkins family. The estate's name was "Seven Oaks",
Today, Stevenson University is composed of seven schools. The Howard S. Brown School of Business and Leadership opened for the fall 2008 semester and houses the school's Accounting, Business Administration, Business Information Systems, Computer Information Systems, Marketing, and Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics programs. Formerly housed on the Greenspring campus, the School of Design moved to a new building on a property purchased from Shire Pharmaceuticals in 2013 to create what is now the Owings Mills North location of the Owings Mills campus. In September 2016, the Kevin J. Manning Academic Center opened and today houses the Beverly K. Fine School of the Sciences, the Sandra R. Berman School of Nursing and Health Professions, and additional facilities for the School of Design. Facilities in Garrison Hall on the Owings Mills campus serve as the headquarters for Stevenson University Online, the university's online school for working professionals seeking master's degrees or to complete a bachelor's degree. The School of Humanities and Social Sciences and School of Education remains on the Greenspring campus.
thumb|Greenspring campus buildings
On July 3, 2017, Stevenson University's sixth president, Elliot Hirshman, joined the university after serving as president of San Diego State University since 2011 and previously as provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
The university expanded its athletic facilities in 2010 with the opening of a gymnasium and the 3,500-seat Mustang Stadium on the Owings Mills Campus. In summer 2017, Stevenson University reached an agreement with the state of Maryland to acquire the former Rosewood Center property in Owings Mills. The 117-acre site is adjacent to Stevenson's existing Owings Mills campus and nearly doubles the total acreage of the university. The Rosewood project has included remediation and demolition of 20 buildings on the site in spring 2018. Grading of the site began in summer 2018.
Academics
Undergraduate programs
Stevenson offers over 90 majors, minors, tracks, and concentrations. All degree programs have a core curriculum in the liberal arts and a career emphasis. In 2018, the university introduced five professional minors—Applied Management, Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development, Human Resources, Real Estate, and Software Design and Coding. The school reported that 92 percent of graduates were employed or started graduate school within six months of graduation.
Traditional undergraduate students can also complete a master's degree program through the university's bachelor's to master's option, designed to allow completion of both degrees in five years.
Leadership, Service, and Honors Scholars programs
Stevenson offers Leadership, Service, and Honors Scholars programs for students who wish to engage in leadership education, extend their civic engagement with the community, or partake in rigorous academic opportunities.
Online programs
Stevenson University Online, formerly the School of Graduate and Professional Studies, offers online master's, bachelor's, and certificate programs for working professionals. Admission is granted on a rolling basis, and courses are offered year-round in 8-week sessions. Areas of study include nursing and healthcare; forensics, cyber forensics, law, and criminal justice; business & technology management and business communications; community-based education and leadership; and STEM-focused teaching.
Enrollment
Stevenson University enrolls approximately 3,600 undergraduate and graduate students in more than 40 bachelor's and master's degree programs. Stevenson's total enrollment has more than doubled since 2001.
Student life
Residence life and activities
The freshman enrollment and housing enrollments rose dramatically between 2009–2010 and 2010–2011. In the fall semester 2010, there were over 900 freshman students, around 700 of whom were residents. In 2013, nearly 2,000 students lived in 13 residence halls
Greek life
In Spring 2018, the university invited two national fraternities, Phi Mu Delta and Phi Beta Sigma, to colonize on campus. The university has three sororities, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Phi Mu and Phi Sigma Sigma.
Marching band
With the induction of the football team in 2011, the university added a marching band. The Stevenson University Marching 100 is a modern-style marching band that plays both contemporary and traditional marching band music. The band uses woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments along with synthesizers, guitars, and color guard. The band plays at football games, open houses, and other university events. It is directed by Mark Lortz.
Arts and culture
Since 2006, Stevenson University has sponsored the Baltimore Speakers Series, which takes place at the Joseph Meyerhoff Center in Baltimore City. Speakers have included former President Bill Clinton, electronics engineer Steve Wozniak, former FBI director James Comey, television journalist Tom Brokaw, Monty Python actor John Cleese, former First Lady Laura Bush, author and radio personality Garrison Keillor, and author/historian Doris Kearns Goodwin.
Through its Arts Alive! initiative, the university offers a year-round calendar of cultural programs, including art exhibitions, theatre productions, film screenings, musical performances, and guest speakers. Arts Alive is a way for students, faculty and staff, and members of the art community to showcase their work.
Notable alumni
- Christine Michel Carter, author, writer, and marketing strategist
- Martha Scanlan Klima, former member of Maryland House of Delegates