The story
Founded by John Early in 1852.1
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.
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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.
From Wikipedia’s article on Loyola University Maryland, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5