Former names
|
DeLand Academy, DeLand University, John B. Stetson University |
---|---|
Motto | Pro Deo et Veritate |
Motto in English
|
For God and Truth |
Type | Private |
Established | 1883 |
Endowment | $207.8 million |
Chairman | Luis "Lu" Prats |
President | Wendy B. Libby |
Provost | Noel Painter |
Students | 4,330 |
Location |
DeLand and Gulfport, Florida, United States 29°02′06″N 81°18′10″W / 29.034972°N 81.302640°WCoordinates: 29°02′06″N 81°18′10″W / 29.034972°N 81.302640°W |
Campus | Suburban, 175 acres (668,000 m²) |
Colors | Green and White |
Athletics | Stetson Hatters |
Sports | NCAA Division I; Atlantic Sun Conference and Pioneer Football League |
Nickname | Hatters |
Mascot | "John B." |
Affiliations | Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools |
Website | www |
Men’s Teams Baseball Basketball Rowing|Crew Cross Country Golf Soccer Tennis Football |
Women’s Teams Basketball Rowing|Crew Cross Country Golf Lacrosse Sand Volleyball Soccer Softball Tennis Volleyball |
Stetson University is a private, nonprofit university with four colleges and schools located across the I-4 corridor in Central Florida, United States, with the primary undergraduate campus located in DeLand. In the 2017 U.S. News and World Report's guide to America's Best Colleges, Stetson ranks as the 5th best regional university in the South, 5th best for veterans among regional universities in the South and 6th best value school among regional universities in the South. The Stetson University College of Law, located in Gulfport, Florida, was ranked 1st nationally in trial advocacy by U.S. News & World Report in 2017.
Other recognitions include being ranked No. 7 nationally in Washington Monthly magazine’s "2015 College Guide” to master's universities, a ranking based on a combination of social mobility, research and service; and being named a military-friendly school.
Stetson University was founded in 1883 by Henry Addison DeLand, a New York philanthropist, as DeLand Academy. In 1887, the Florida Legislature enacted the Charter of DeLand University as an independent institution of higher learning.
DeLand University's name was changed in 1889 to honor hat manufacturer John B. Stetson, a benefactor of the university, who served with town founder, Henry A. DeLand, and others as a founding trustee of the university. Stetson also provided substantial assistance to the university after DeLand, on account of financial reverses, was no longer able to do so.
Stetson University was affiliated with the Florida Baptist Convention from its founding in 1885 until 1907, when the Convention was defeated in its effort to force Stetson to amend its charter. From 1907 to 1919, the Florida Baptist Convention operated Columbia College in Lake City, Florida, but it failed for lack of adequate financial support. According to Gilbert Lycan, a Stetson history professor who wrote the university's official centennial history in 1983, the relationship between Stetson University and the Florida Baptist Convention was reestablished in 1919, and it continued until 1995, when it was officially terminated.