University of Baltimore

Pre-history

The area near campus was first settled in the 1700s, with farm land and wood plots surrounding the Jones Falls, which was then a practical transportation medium. (In the 1800s, Robert E. Lee often took a boat on the river from his home in what was then northern Baltimore to his day assignment overseeing construction of Fort Carroll.) The river's transportation legacy presaged later uses: With the creation of the competing Mount Royal Station and Penn Station railroad venues, development in the area moved into high gear. Buildings constructed in the first half of the 1900s included two that would later be used by UB: The Loyola Savings and Loan building (now the Liberal Arts and Policy building) and the "old garage", (now an administration building) which would become one of the first indoor automobile sales venues in the United States. These were erected in addition to significant residential development in the Midtown-Belvedere area, which benefitted heavily from the neighborhood's status as a regional hub on competing railroads.

Early history

The university would not initially reside at its modern-day campus, however. Founded by a group of Baltimore business professionals, UB originally sought to provide educational opportunities for working men and women, meaning that the first classes were held not above the ornate dragons of the current liberal arts and policy building, but in a four-story rowhouse on St. Paul St. in 1925.

In 1937, after the addition of day programs to augment the initial night courses, a full-scale junior college was added to the university's offerings. Other changes in the following decades included the construction of the Langsdale Library in 1966, according to an administrative history of the school. In the 1970s, UB merged with Eastern College, Mount Vernon School of Law, and Baltimore College of Commerce.

During the presidency of Thomas Granville Pullen, the university became fully accredited in 1971 with the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and built the Langsdale Library. In 1975, UB became an "upper division academic institution", offering only third and fourth year undergraduate and post-graduate course work. At the same time, ownership was assumed by the State of Maryland.

In 1988, the state merged UB into the new statewide university system, the University of Maryland System, which was later renamed University System of Maryland.

Lower division Initiative and later developments

The Lower Division Initiative was a program that began in 2005 to extend the University of Baltimore's position to once again offer the first two years of the baccalaureate degree. In April 2005, the University System of Maryland's Board of Regents approved plans that would allow UB to start accepting freshmen and sophomores. Under the original plan, freshmen and sophomore were to be admitted starting in the fall of 2006.

In a unanimous vote on February 15, 2006, the Maryland Higher Education Commission approved a revised mission statement submitted by the University of Baltimore, thus enabling the University to return to four-year undergraduate status. This was the same initiative that had received approval from the Board of Regents in 2005; however, the plan was revised slightly, calling for freshmen to be admitted in the fall of 2007.

The University stated that the new program better reflected the current focus and was designed to prepare students in business, pre-law, technology, public affairs, and applied liberal arts. The University said that it would offer freshmen "free" tuition for their first year, a benefit made possible by an anonymous private donor. An estimate stated that 140 freshmen were expected in the incoming class of fall of 2007.

In 2009, the event Gay Expectations Too as part of the University of Baltimore live performance series Spotlight UB, helped raise US$2,400 for the Baltimore-based non-profit food charity Moveable Feast.

Near the time of the change, the University also changed the school colors to blue (PMS 3025) and green (PMS 362), updated the "UB" logo, and adopted the new slogan-- "Knowledge that works". As of 2016, the school colors are just blue, PMS 7690.

In 2011, the school acted as the site of the 2011 Balkan Business Summit. Years since that event have witnessed the creation of a new, 12-story building for the university's law school, along with the construction of additional residential capacity on campus. In May 2014, it was announced that Kurt L. Schmoke would become the university's eighth president, succeeding retired president Robert Bogomolny.

In early 2015, it was announced that the university would that summer host the Bridges Conference, billed by organizers as one of the world's largest art/math interdisciplinary gatherings. Past sites for the conference have included Seoul, Banff, London and Granada.

As of early 2015, the renovation of Langsdale Library was underway. The renovation was designed by the German architectural firm Behnisch Architekten, which had also been responsible for the design of the 2013 law school structure at Charles St. and Mount Royal Ave.

Academics and degree programs

The University offers numerous undergraduate, graduate, and professional as well as several joint degree programs.

Undergraduate

UB offers various Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science that are designated for business and law students.

Graduate

UB offers a Master of Public Administration degree program. Through a joint program, UB and Towson University offer a Master of Business Administration degree program. Both programs include several specializations and joint degree options and the MBA program has a competitive acceptance rate of 41%. The university awards Master of Science degrees in Accounting, Applied Psychology, Criminal Justice, Human Services Administration, Innovation Management and Technology Commercialization, Interaction Design and Information Architecture, Negotiations and Conflict Management, Nonprofit Management and Social Entrepreneurship, and Taxation. The university awards Master of Arts in Legal and Ethical Studies as well as Publications Design. In addition, it offers Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing & Publishing Arts and Integrated Design. It also awards several different Graduate Certificates, including Accounting, Business, Forensic Accounting, Leadership for Organizations, Technology Commercialization, User Experience (UX) Design, and Professional Counseling.

Professional

UB offers professional degree programs leading to a Doctorate in Communications Design or Public Administration. UB through its law school offers a Juris Doctor and several concentrations. In addition, the law school offers a Master of Laws in the Laws of the United States and Taxation.

Colleges and schools

The University is composed of multiple colleges and schools:

Campus and student services

The main campus is located in Baltimore's Mt. Vernon cultural district, close to downtown and the Inner Harbor. The Lyric Opera House, Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, and the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) are nearby. For the most part, the main academic buildings surround the intersections of Mount Royal Avenue and North Charles Street. Gordon Plaza is at the center of campus.

Academic buildings

The principal academic buildings include:

Student housing developments

The University, the Bozzuto Group, and the Gould Property Co. entered into a public-private joint venture to develop UB's Bolton Yard parking lot into a mixed use development, including apartments, a UB student bookstore, other retail, and garage parking. The project, which is named the Fitzgerald at UB Midtown, broke ground in 2008 and was largely complete by 2011.

The Fitzgerald project was viewed at the time of its inception as a prelude to future public-private development projects—for instance more student housing. To that end, an October 2010 announcement indicated that the university was planning an 11-story student housing tower, to again be built in partnership with a private company, according to The Baltimore Sun. The student housing tower was largely complete by mid-2012.

According to a 2014 Baltimore Sun article, the university is considering building additional dormitory space on West Oliver Street, at the site of a facility currently used for postal vehicle maintenance. That development has yet to be named.

Public safety/campus police

The University of Baltimore Police Department (UBPD) is the law enforcement body that protects and serves the students, staff, and visitors on its main campus. In addition, the department collects and distributes campus crime statistics, offers women's self-defense courses, and operates several crime prevention programs. Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Baltimore Police Department, the UB campus police have concurrent jurisdiction for twenty blocks into the city of Baltimore from UB's main campus. The current chief of police is Samuel D. Tress.

Local transit

Penn Station, with connections to Amtrak and MARC service, and a Light Rail stop, are just to the north of campus. The University of Baltimore/Mt. Royal station on the Baltimore Light Rail system is on the northwest edge of campus. The State Center station on the Baltimore Metro system is just a few blocks from campus. UB runs shuttle bus service between its academic buildings, parking garages, and the nearby public transportation/local transit stops.

Satellite campuses

In conjunction with the University System of Maryland, UB offers courses and several undergraduate and/or graduate degree programs at the Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville, Maryland. In addition, the university also offers its Master of Arts in Legal and Ethical Studies and Master of Public Administration programs at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Maryland Through a partnership with the College of Southern Maryland, UB offers the upper-level undergraduate coursework leading toward bachelor's degree in Business in Southern Maryland. UB also offers some classes online.

Student life

UB has numerous academic clubs, student organizations, and an active student government. (As of early 2015, more than 90 are listed.) The academic clubs usually sponsor a host of programs and speakers throughout the school year. Not all clubs are academic or sports-related, however: Clubs related to improv, crafting, religions, languages and film are among the non-academic, non-sports options. The UB Post is the monthly student newspaper, which serves the purpose of keeping the general student population informed of upcoming campus activities, as well as relevant news. A student-run press, Plork, provides additional printing experience for students majoring in fields related to media design, publishing and writing, as does the University's 50-year-old literary magazine, Welter. The Student Center is the central place for students—housing the bookstore, food services, student government and organization offices, and study lounges.

The University of Baltimore has not offered any varsity sports since 1983.

Student housing

The office of student housing at UB provides support for the full-time student community, offering standard residential services including roommate matching and activities. Students have the option to reside in The Varsity, which features studio and pod-style apartments. The Varsity is located on West Biddle Street, 0.2 miles from the campus.

Campus Recreation and Wellness

UB has an athletic/fitness center named Campus Recreation and Wellness, which is continually growing for the betterment of the university and surrounding community. It has an aerobics studio, a sparring/boxing room, two indoor racquetball courts, a well-equipped gym, a basketball court, and locker rooms. The Recreation Center, located on the third and fourth floor of the Academic Center, offers fitness classes free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis to all members and hosts the Sport Club and Intramural Sports teams. At one time, UB owned and operated a golf driving range in the Mount Washington neighborhood of Baltimore. However, this facility has been leased to the city. Campus Recreation Services seeks to serve the recreation, fitness, health and leisure needs of the university community through instructional and competitive sport activities, including aerobics classes, golf lessons, intramural sports, informal recreation and sport clubs. The Recreation Center facilities include basketball, racquetball, badminton and volleyball courts, weight and cardio rooms, aerobic and spinning studios, indoor golf cage, foosball, darts, Wii gaming system, as well as locker rooms and a sauna. The facilities are open to students, faculty, staff and Recreation Center members with validated University of Baltimore I.D. cards.

The UB men's lacrosse team won four USILA Division II national championships in four consecutive years, 1956–1959.

Honor societies

The university hosts chapters of several honor societies, including:

Business

History, journalism and media

Mathematics, sciences and technology

Politics, law and government

Sports