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.
1954
Official approval as a two-year college is granted by the Maryland State Department of Education.
1967
Villa Julie becomes an independent institution, no longer affiliated with the Catholic Church, with governance 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.
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 grow 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.
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.
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 on the Greenspring campus.
1996
The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) grants approval for programs for the preparation of elementary and early childhood teachers.
1997
The college celebrates its 50th anniversary.
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.
2002
The School of Graduate and Professional Studies is created to serve the needs of adult learners. Through this school, 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. Also in 2004, the Board of Trustees begins discussing the possibility of transitioning to university status.
2006
Rockland Center opens 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 2007-2008 academic year as part of its 60th anniversary, inaugurating a new annual tradition on October 1 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
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 remain as originally configured.
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, 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 North campus.
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 men’s lacrosse team wins the first NCAA national championship for VJC/Stevenson athletics, beating the Rochester Institute of Technology’s Tigers at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field on May 26.
2014
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, 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
In August, the university dedicates the new 200,000-square-foot academic building on the North campus 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 to provide student resources and academic support services in one central location, 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 changes its name to Stevenson University Online.
2018
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.
2020
In February, Stevenson announces a $2 million naming gift from the Philip A. Zaffere Foundation for the new campus library. In March, the university announces the launch of its first doctoral program, the Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) in Clinical Psychology. On March 16, undergraduate programs transition 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 This property will be developed as Stevenson’s East campus.
2021
In March, after the first year of the COVID pandemic, Stevenson announces its plan to return to full in-person classes, student events and activities and intercollegiate athletic competition for the 2021-2022 academic year.
2022
The university holds a ceremonial groundbreaking for the new 42,000 square-foot Philip A. Zaffere Library.
In February, the new Cordish Family Tennis Bubble opens on the Greenspring campus. The Bubble will be used annually between November and March as the winter practice facility for the men's and women's tennis teams. The new acrobatics & tumbling team begins its first season with its inaugural match against Frostburg.
In April, the university completes the new outdoor track and turf field for the field hockey on the new East campus. This new athletic and recreational hub for Stevenson Dill, club, and intramural sports will be fully open by Fall 2022 with new fields, courses, and facilities for softball, baseball, field hockey, soccer, lacrosse, outdoor track and field, and cross country.
In September, for the fifth year in a row, Stevenson University is named among the nation's "Best Value Schools" by U.S. News and World Report. Stevenson also dedicates the new Dennis A. Starliper Applied Finance Lab in the Brown School of Business, named after faculty member Dennis Starliper who donated funds to create the digital lab where business students can experience and participate in real-time stock market trading.
In October, the university partners with the Women’s Institute of Torah Seminary and College of Baltimore (WITS) to create Pre-Med, Pre-Dental, and Biomedical Engineering degree pathways for WITS students.
2023
In February, the Athletics Department unveils its new Mustang logo with the start of the spring sports season.
The university creates the new Center for Student Life and Leadership (CSLL) on the second floor of the Garrison Student Union. The CSLL provides a place where student groups and leaders can host meetings, brainstorm, plan initiatives and events, or simply reflect and learn together.
The Professional Minors program expands with the addition of minors in Event Planning and Web Design, bringing the total number of Professional Minors to seven.
In April, Stevenson celebrates the official opening of the East campus with a ribbon cutting ceremony.