University Timeline
1947
Villa Julie College is founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur at "Seven Oaks," an 80-acre estate in Greenspring Valley, formerly the home of the George Carrell Jenkins family. The College opens its doors on October 1, specializing in medical-secretarial training.
1954
Official approval as a two-year college is granted by the Maryland State Department of Education. In that same year, a new classroom facility, Founder's Hall, is opened.
1965
The College receives Maryland state approval for a child development program and for transfer programs in the arts and sciences as well as teacher education. Shortly thereafter, the College is granted an "A" rating for transferability of credits by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.
1967
Villa Julie becomes an independent institution that is no longer affiliated with the Catholic Church. Control is vested in a newly formed Board of Trustees comprised of business, civic, and professional leaders.
1971
In response to increasing enrollment, the College builds a multi-million dollar complex consisting of an art wing, learning resource center, and student center. Evening and summer sessions are inaugurated this same year.
1972
Villa Julie becomes co-educational, admitting its first full-time male student.
1984
Villa Julie becomes a four-year college offering a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems.
1985-1986
While the College continues to offer two-year programs, academic offerings are augmented to include new majors and programs that provided a wider choice of professional career possibilities and support the changing requirements of the business and professional communities in the region. The concept of career education combined with the liberal arts became a hallmark of the College’s philosophy, Pro Discendo, Pro Vivendo: For Learning, For Living.
1988
The Middle States Association reaffirms the College’s accreditation, this time as a four-year college offering bachelor’s and associate’s degrees.
1991
A cooperative education program is initiated for junior and senior students, making it possible for them to experience firsthand a working environment directly related to their fields of study.
1993
Off-campus housing for students in garden-type apartments opens a short distance from the College. The cooperative education program is also expanded and opens to all students in the baccalaureate programs.
1994
Villa Julie is awarded membership in NCAA Division III.
1995
The College begins the first phase of the construction of an Academic Center, Inscape Theatre, Student Union and gymnasium, and Science Center.
1996
The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) grants approval for programs for the preparation of elementary and early childhood teachers. This was the first Maryland education program that fulfilled the new state MSDE requirements for teacher education.
1997
The College celebrated its 50th anniversary. The Academic Center, Inscape Theatre, and Art Gallery opens in August, and in November, the Student Union and gymnasium opens.
1999
President Carolyn Manuszak and Dean Rose Dawson retire with a combined 65 years of service to Villa Julie College.
2000
The new decade brings the inauguration of Villa Julie's fifth President, Kevin J. Manning, Ph.D.
2001
New master’s programs in business technology management and e-commerce are approved by MHEC.
2002
The School of Graduate and Professional Studies is created to accommodate the needs of adult learners. Through this school, adult students could enroll in master’s degree programs, evening/weekend bachelor’s degree programs, or accelerated bachelor’s degree programs. Additionally, the College begins offering an accelerated B.S. to M.S. degree in advanced information technology, enabling students to earn both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in five years.
2003
The College breaks ground on its first campus-owned student housing complex in nearby Owings Mills
2004
Apartment-style housing for 550 students and a community center opens in Owings Mills. The college also leases classroom space on the same piece of land, allowing students to live and attend classes at the same location for the first time in Villa Julie history. Those moves, along with the purchase of the former Baltimore Ravens training facility and the office building where the college leased classroom and office space, gave Villa Julie more than 80 acres of land at the Owings Mills campus. In December, Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski visited the college to announce nearly $250,000 in federal funds to support distance-learning efforts utilizing the Verizon Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. Also in 2004, the Board of Trustees begins discussing the possibility of transitioning to university status because of the growth in student population and the addition of a second campus.
2005
A bachelor’s degree in medical technology is launched to replace the two-year medical laboratory technology program.
2006
Rockland Center opens in October to provide a student dining center, offices for Student Affairs, and a banquet hall for functions organized by on- and off-campus groups. The Caves Sports and Wellness Center, the new name for the renovated facility formerly used by the Baltimore Ravens, opens. In August, the College begins offering an online Master of Science in Forensic Studies degree. The Board approves university status in November 2006 and later establishes a committee to oversee a study of name options for the institution.
2007
In May, the College breaks ground on the next new building for Owings Mills, a 60,000-square-foot academic building to house the newly formed Brown School of Business and Leadership. Villa Julie celebrates its growth through the 2007-2009 academic year as part of its 60th anniversary, inaugurating a new tradition on October 1, 2007, by celebrating Founders Day to commemorate the day the College first opened.
2008
On June 11, 2008, the Board votes unanimously to change the name of the institution, and the name Stevenson University is unveiled the next morning.
2009
Additional expansion of the Owings Mills campus includes Wooded Way, which houses specialized student learning communities as well as the Office of Career Services. In March 2009, the University Restructuring Plan is adopted by the Faculty Council. The plan creates four new schools: the School of Humanities and Social Sciences; the School of Design; the School of Education; and the School of the Sciences. The Brown School of Business and Leadership and the School of Graduate and Professional Studies remains as originally configured.
2010
A new entrance to the Owings Mills campus is opened. Stevenson is named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service learning, and civic engagement.
2011
Two new residence halls welcome an additional 500 students on the Owings Mills campus, and the new 3,500-seat Mustang Stadium opens in early September. In November 2011, the University purchases the Owings Mills site of Shire Pharmaceuticals. The 28-acre site—which today includes the School of Design and the Manning Academic Center—comprises the University’s Owings Mills North location.
2012
The University Archives establishes the Maryland Bible Society Collection at Stevenson to house the society’s historic 400-year-old first edition of the King James Bible. In December 2012, the Greenspring Valley Orchestra, conducted by Stevenson music professor Robert Suggs, celebrates its 10th Anniversary Concert.
2013
The School of the Sciences hosts the inaugural Dell Lecture in honor of Stevenson trustee Samuel M. Dell III and his wife Geraldine and awards the first Dell Scholarship for outstanding Stevenson seniors studying biology, chemistry, and mathematics. The men’s lacrosse team wins the NCAA 2013 Division III National Championship game, beating the Rochester Institute of Technology’s Tigers at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field on May 26.
2014
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak visits campus to address a crowd of middle school, high school, and Stevenson students. In April, Stevenson unveils the iconic 12-foot-tall, bronze mustang statue, "Victory," outside of Mustang Stadium. The University opens an Athletics Hall of Fame, located in the Owings Mills Gymnasium, which is later named in honor of Dick Watts, the University’s former Director of Physical Education.
2015
The new School of Nursing and Health Professions is created, comprising the Department of Nursing and the Medical Laboratory Science Program, bringing Stevenson's number of schools to seven.
2016
President Manning announces his plan to retire after 16 years of leadership. In August, the university dedicates the new 200,000-square-foot academic building at Owings Mills North as the Kevin J. Manning Academic Center (MAC). Stevenson also receives naming gifts for two of schools housed in the MAC: the Sandra R. Berman School of Nursing and Health Professions and the Beverly K. Fine School of the Sciences.
2017
Stevenson opens the Center for Student Success on the Owings Mills Campus to provide student resources and academic support services, including the Office of Student Success, the John L. Stasiak Academic Link, and the Experiential Learning Center. In March 2017, the Board concludes its presidential search and names Elliot Hirshman, Ph.D., President of San Diego State University (SDSU), as the new President of Stevenson as of July 2017. The School of Graduate and Professional Studies' name is changed to Stevenson University Online.
2018
In January, the Garrison Hall Student Activities Commons opens. The commons includes rooms for student clubs and activities, clubs' sports offices, three meeting rooms, a fitness center, and a console video gaming room. The Center also serves as the home for Stevenson’s eSports team with a dedicated eSports room. Work is completed on the Quad, a green space connecting the School of Business and Leadership, Garrison Hall, and Rockland Center. In the fall, the Reading Room is opened in Garrison Hall, giving students a quiet area for studying. The University’s first Professional Minors are offered in management and organization leadership, entrepreneurship and small business development, human resources, real estate, and software design and coding.
2019
The University introduces two new undergraduate programs, Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics and Biomedical Engineering, starting in Fall 2019. In November, Stevenson senior Patrick Watson crosses the finish line at the 2019 NCAA DIII Cross Country Championships, becoming the first student-athlete in Mustang Athletics history to capture an NCAA individual national championship. In the fall, Stevenson celebrates its 25th anniversary in NCAA athletics. Athletic Director Brett Adams, who came to Villa Julie in 1994 as the first full-time Director of Athletics and men's basketball coach, is admitted to the Stevenson Hall of Fame, honoring his pivotal role in the growth of Mustang Athletics.
2020
In February, Stevenson announces that it receives a $2 million naming gift from the Philip A. Zaffere Foundation for the new library to be constructed on the Owings Mills campus. The university also receives a gift from faculty member Dennis Starliper to create an Applied Finance Lab in the Brown School of Business and Leadership. In March, Stevenson announces the launch of its first doctoral program, the Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) Clinical Psychology. On March 16, Stevenson transitions undergraduate programs to online remote learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. On Sept. 25, Stevenson assumes ownership of Parcels 1 and 2 of the former Rosewood Center property after concluding its agreement with the State of Maryland. Under the Owings Mills East, LLC, the property will be developed as an athletic and recreational hub providing space for the expansion of Stevenson’s current facilities. For the third year in a row, Stevenson University is named among the nation’s “Best Value Schools” by U.S. News and World Report
2021
On March 1 President Hirshman announces Stevenson's plan to return to full in-person classes, student events and activities, and intercollegiate athletic competition in the fall 2021 semester.