1883-2023: 140 Reasons to Celebrate a Rich History (But Not All!)

Michael Candelaria January 4, 2024
Editor’s note: The full version of this article appears in the Fall/Winter 2023 issue of Stetson University Magazine, which will be in mailboxes soon and is now available online.

Why celebrate Stetson’s history from 1883 to now? There are so, so many reasons. Here are 140 of them, and there are many more. 

Also, this alphabetical com­pilation is about inherent uni­versity events, distinctiveness and places — not about note­worthy Stetson people. Simply, there are too many people to mention! 

So, here goes:

“All Who Came Before Us.” Those were the words used by Stetson President Christopher F. Roellke, PhD, during his 2023 Presidential State of the University Address at Homecoming in late October. Roellke was referring to the university’s multitude of historymakers through the years. 

Athletic Training Center. The 25,000-square-foot building, prompted by the growth of NCAA team sports on campus in 2012-2013, houses locker rooms and areas for sports medicine and strength/conditioning. 

Baptist Church. Stetson’s affiliation with the Florida Baptist Convention and Southern Baptists began in 1885 and didn’t officially end until 1995. While no longer active, that affiliation is an important part of the university’s rich past. 

A portrait of community involvement: members of Stetson’s Bonner Program.

Bonner Program. Since 2005, the Bonner Program has been a catalyst for student-led community transformation and social justice at Stetson. 

Brown Center for Faculty Innovation and Excellence. The center promotes faculty vitality and vibrancy in all facets of faculty life (learn­ing and teaching, scholarship, leadership and service) by offering programming, mentoring and consultancy that spurs innovation and sustains excellence. 

Campus Blood Drives. The Big Red Bus is a staple on campus outside the CUB area. 

Cancer Research. Undergraduate Biology students study cures under the watchful eyes of professors. 

Candlelight Concerts. The holiday showcase of more than 200 student musicians typically performs to sellout crowds. 

Center for Community Engagement. The center plays the lead role in directing a nationally recognized campuswide engagement program that is delivered through both curricular and co-curricular avenues. The mission: create opportunities for student learning through community impact. 

Center for Public Opinion Research. Focused on independent non-partisan survey research, the center produces insight about how the public thinks about politics, the economy and other social issues. 

Centurion Sales Labs. Housed in the School of Business Administration, the program provides advanced training in professional sales to students and work­ing professionals. 

Chaudoin Hall in 1901

Chaudoin Hall. Built in 1892 as the oldest living and learning facility on campus — and hugely popular through the years as Stetson’s only all-female residential facility — Chaudoin Hall was renovated in time for the start of the Fall 2023 semester. (More details are on Page 11 in the magazine.)

Cici & Hyatt Brown Hall for Health & Innovation. Its opening last year made history on multiple fronts. Not only was the building the result of Stetson’s largest charitable gift — by longtime university benefactors and Trustees Cici and Hyatt Brown — but it also established a truly vital science complex on campus. The two-story, 40,000-square-foot building connects to Sage Hall. 

City of DeLand Relationship. For many decades the close and cooperative partnership has aided both campus and community growth. 

This photo of the incoming Class of 2027 was taken in August 2023.

Class Photo Following Orientation. It’s an annual rite of passage. (More details are on Page 2 in the magazine.)

College of Law. Founded in 1900, Stetson Law is still making big history — this year once again ranked No. 1 in trial advocacy and No. 3 in legal writing by U.S. News & World Report. Stetson Law was Florida’s first law school, and the first law school in Florida to admit women. The first female lawyer gradu­ated in 1908. In 1954, when an enroll­ment boom after World War II prompted Stetson to look elsewhere for campus locations, the university chose Gulfport in Tampa Bay, on a 17-building/21-acre site of the former Hotel Rolyat (built in 1925). Today, the student enrollment hovers around 1,000. Another bit of history: Stetson was the first law school in Florida to require pro bono service by students and faculty.

The entire story is available online.

-Michael Candelaria