Loyola University Maryland is a private Jesuit university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established as Loyola College in Maryland by John Early and eight other members of the Society of Jesus in 1852, it is the ninth-oldest Jesuit college in the United States and the first college in the United States to bear the name of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus.
Loyola's main campus is in Baltimore and features Collegiate Gothic architecture and a pedestrian bridge across Charles Street. The university is academically divided into three schools: the Loyola College of Arts and Sciences, the Loyola School of Education, and the Sellinger School of Business and Management. It currently operates a Clinical Center at Belvedere Square in Baltimore. Loyola previously had graduate centers in Timonium (closed May 2024) and Columbia, Maryland (closed August 2023).
The student body comprises approximately 4,000 undergraduate and 1,900 graduate students, representing 39 states and 44 countries, and 84% of undergraduates reside on campus. The average class size is 20, with a student-to-faculty ratio of 12:1. Approximately 73% of the student body receives some form of financial aid. Campus groups include the Association of Latin American & Spanish students (ALAS) and the Greyhound college newspaper. There is also the student-run, online-only publication, The Rival.
Notable alumni include Tom Clancy, author of many notable books such as The Hunt for Red October, and Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down. Loyola's sports teams are nicknamed the Greyhounds and are best known for the perennially ranked men's and women's lacrosse teams. The men's lacrosse team's biggest rival is nearby Johns Hopkins University. The annual lacrosse games played between these two institutions is known as the "Battle of Charles Street". The school colors are green and grey.
History
Founding
Loyola College in Maryland was founded in 1852 by John Early and eight other members of the Society of Jesus ("Jesuits"), and was the first college in the United States to bear the name of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Loyola College in Maryland is the ninth-oldest among the nation's 27 Jesuit colleges and universities.
The college's first campus was in two large townhouses on Holliday Street between East Lexington Street (then called Orange Alley) and East Fayette Street, in downtown Baltimore. After only three years, in 1855, Loyola relocated to a newly built structure on North Calvert Street, between East Monument Street and East Madison Street, adjacent to and just south of newly established St. Ignatius Church in the city's historic Mount Vernon-Belvedere neighborhood, and moved to its present "Evergreen" campus in north Baltimore on North Charles Street during 1922. Evening classes commenced in 1942.
Expansion
During the early 1930s, the high school section moved to nearby Towson, north of Baltimore. In 1949, the college established a graduate division in education, adding a graduate degree program in business management in 1968, a graduate program in speech pathology in 1971, and finance in 1973. Today, the college's list of graduate programs has grown to include psychology, modern studies, pastoral counseling, computer science, and software engineering.
Loyola became coeducational in 1971, following its joining with Mount Saint Agnes College, a neighboring women's college that was experiencing financial difficulties and closed following the joining. That same year, the college's Board of Trustees elected its first lay chairperson.
Working from these foundations, Loyola has transformed itself from a small commuter college into a residential college with an undergraduate population of more than 4,000 students. In 1981, Loyola established a separate business school: The Rev. Joseph A. Sellinger, Jr., School of Business and Management. The school would expand geographically with two graduate centers in Timonium and Columbia, Maryland.
Designation change
The Executive Committee of the college's Board of Trustees announced on August 20, 2008 its decision to change the institution's name to Loyola University Maryland. Its request was approved on March 25, 2009 by the Maryland Higher Education Commission, with the change officially taking effect five months later on August 19. The Reverend Brian F. Linnane, SJ, the university's president, stated that the "college" designation no longer fit the school and that its comprehensive array of academic fields, some with graduate programs, was better reflected in its new name.
Jesuit tradition
The Society of Jesus founded Loyola University Maryland in the tradition of Ignatius of Loyola. The Society of Jesus, and therefore Loyola University Maryland, operate according to the mandate Ad maiorem Dei gloriam (AMDG), directing their ends toward that which brings forth the "greater glory of God." This cornerstone of the Jesuit philosophy functions to remind students that their education is meant to be applied toward the betterment of humanity and God's worship, in particular. Loyola's focus on cura personalis or the whole person's education functions to attain that end. A broad base of knowledge, supported by a strong liberal arts core, prepares Jesuit students to undertake the goal of AMDG.
In keeping with this overarching principle, Loyola undergraduates must complete the core curriculum, including courses in English, philosophy, theology, ethics, history, fine arts, foreign language, mathematics, natural science, and social sciences. Though Loyola encourages plurality, its religious heritage is preserved and cultured by encouraging all of its students and faculty to cultivate and live by the core values of the Society of Jesus.
In 1950, following the admittance of Charles Henry Dorsey Jr., Loyola was awarded the Sidney Hollander Award for its contribution to the establishment of civil and political rights for African Americans in Maryland.
Endowment Loyola's endowment's primary financial objective is to provide funds for the current and future support of the university's operations and programs. The endowment consists of approximately 300 individual funds established for various purposes, including both donor-restricted endowment funds and funds designated by the Board of Trustees to function as endowments. As of May 31, 2018, the total assets of the endowment were $228.2 million.
Comprehensive capital campaigns have strengthened Loyola's endowment. The recent Bright Minds, Bold Hearts campaign exceeded $100 million. The campaign, which concluded in May 2018, added over $54 million to the University's endowment, created 115 new scholarships, increased the funding of 55 existing scholarships, enhanced athletic facilities, and strengthened Loyola's academic experience, including programs in peace and justice studies, global studies, and Messina, an interdisciplinary living-learning experience for first-year students The campaign also supported the mission and ministry of the University through investment in the local community and Loyola's York Road Initiative.
Academics
The foundation of a Loyola education is a broad core program covering basic knowledge and concepts in the humanities, math, and science, and the social sciences. The purpose is to balance general education and specialized study in the major. Undergraduate degrees are awarded in three schools, Loyola College, the School of Education, and the Joseph A. Sellinger, S.J. School of Business and Management. The university operates on a semester system.Loyola University Maryland – U.S. News & World Report.
Loyola College Coinciding with the university's transition to its new name, the College of Arts and Sciences became Loyola College on August 19, 2009. It offers degrees in biology, chemistry, classics, communication, comparative cultures, and literary studies, computer science, economics, education, engineering science, English, fine arts, French, German, global studies, history, an honors program, interdisciplinary studies (including American, Asian, Catholic, film, gender, Latin American/Latino and medieval studies), law, mathematical science, military science, modern languages and literature, nursing, philosophy, physics, political science, pre-health curriculum/programs (including medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, and optometry/podiatry), psychology, sociology, Spanish, speech-language pathology/audiology, theology, forensic studies and writing.
Sellinger School of Business and Management
The Sellinger School of Business and Management offers degrees in accounting, business economics, finance, general business, international business, management, management information systems, marketing, and the Sellinger scholars program. In 1984 the business school was formally named the Joseph A. Sellinger, S.J. School of Business and Management in honor of the late Reverend Joseph A. Sellinger, earning accreditation in all programs by AACSB (The International Association for Management Education) in 1988. Loyola is the only private institution in the state of Maryland with a nationally accredited business school. In 1990, the accounting department earned specialized national accreditation from AACSB.
School of Education Since 1946 the department of education has been one of the stronger academic pillars at Loyola. With the 2009 name designation change, President Linnane announced The School of Education's opening, which was to be led by Peter C. Murrell, Jr. as the first dean. The School was officially opened on October 14, 2009. The School now offers undergraduate majors in Elementary Education and minors in Secondary Education and Special Education. Its graduate department offers Master of Arts (M.A.), Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT), Master of Education (M.Ed.), the Certificate of Advanced Study in School Management (C.S.M.), and the Certificate of Advanced Study in Education (CASE).
Admission More than 10,000 students apply for admission as freshmen for approximately 1,000 spaces. The class of 2013 was the last applicant class that was required to submit SAT scores. The admission office has now begun a four-year pilot program that does not require standardized test scores, deeming them optional.
Campus
Loyola's Evergreen campus spans along Charles Street in northern Baltimore. The college also owns in the mountains of western Maryland, used for the Rising Phoenix Retreat Center. The Loyola Clinical Centers have located just a short drive from the college's main campus, in Belvedere Square. The Clinical Centers offer individuals in the community a broad range of services addressing educational, language, and psychological issues.
At the western side of the Quad on the Evergreen campus lies the Alumni Memorial Chapel of Our Lady. Formally dedicated on September 15, 1952, the chapel features Gothic architectural influences with large stained-glass windows and a long, narrow nave situated along the east-west axis. A statue of Our Lady of Evergreen, Queen of Peace, is situated above the front façade.
On the eastern side of the Quad, and in the center of campus, is the Tudor-style Humanities Center, originally built by the Garrett family in 1895 as a wedding gift for one of their children. Unfortunately, the child died during a trip to England, and the residence became a rehabilitation center for men blinded during the war. In 1921, Loyola's Jesuits purchased the Garretts' Evergreen property and gradually moved the college from its location on Calvert Street. The mansion was originally used for classes but then became the Jesuit residence. In 1955, it suffered severe fire damage and was converted to offices following the restoration. Today, the Humanities Center houses 16 departments, including Admissions, Alumni Relations, Financial Aid, and the Philosophy, Theology, and History departments.