Villa Julie College
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| Motto | "Pro Discendo, Pro Vivendo" For Living, For Learning |
|---|---|
| Established | 1947 |
| Type | Private |
| President | Kevin J. Manning |
| Undergraduates | 2,500 |
| Location | Stevenson and Owings Mills, Maryland, USA |
| Campus | Suburban Stevenson: 60 acres Owings Mills: 100 acres |
| Colors | Green and White |
| Mascot | Mustangs |
| Website | http://www.vjc.edu |
Villa Julie College is located in Baltimore County, Maryland in the Greenspring Valley area. The College has two campuses located in Stevenson and in Owings Mills. It is a private, independent, coeducational, liberal arts college with approximately 2,500 undergraduate students.
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[edit] History
Villa Julie College was founded in 1947 in Stevenson by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur as a one-year school training women to become medical secretaries. The College was named for Saint Julie Billiart, foundress of the Sisters of Notre Dame. The Stevenson campus is located on the 80-acre former estate of the George Carroll Jenkins family. The estate's name was "Seven Oaks," a reference to oak trees planted on the property that were thought to be part of a traditional Native American burial ground. One of the original seven oaks still stands on campus.
Villa Julie was approved as a two-year college by the Maryland State Department of Education in 1954 and received its first Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation in 1962. In 1967 the College established a Board of Trustees and became independent of the Catholic Church. The first male student was admitted to Villa Julie in 1972, making the College coeducational.
Bachelor's degree programs were added in 1984 starting with a degrees in Computer Information Systems and Paralegal Studies. Traditionally a commuter college for local residents, Villa Julie started attracting students interested in college housing in the early 90's. Without the proper zoning for such an addition to the Stevenson campus, the College leased off-campus apartments in Pikesville and later in Towson where students could live starting in 1993. Villa Julie was granted admission to the NCAA Division III in 1994 and started offering master's degrees in 1995. A major campus expansion in 1997 more than doubled the amount of instructional space on the Stevenson campus. As enrollment continued to increase and the demand for college-owned student housing intensified, the College made plans to open a second campus in Owings Mills. The College broke ground on a new campus in August, 2003 and VJC-Owings Mills opened in August, 2004.
Today, Villa Julie enrolls approximately 2,800 students in over 25 bachelor's and master's degree programs. Current enrollment makes Villa Julie the third-largest private college in the state of Maryland. Approximately 1000 students live in ten residence halls at VJC-Owings Mills. The Owings Mills campus recently expanded once again with the October 14, 2006 opening of Rockland Center, a new student union and dining hall. The College will break ground on a new academic building, which will house the School of Business, in spring 2007.
The Chairman of the Board of Trustees is Kevin G. Byrnes. Byrnes succeeded Charles E. "Ted" Herget, who stepped down in June 2005. The President of the College is Kevin J. Manning, Ph.D. Dr. Manning was sworn in as president in 2000. He succeeded Carolyn Manusak, a former Sister of Notre Dame de Namur, who had served as Villa Julie's president since the 1960s.
[edit] Undergraduate Programs
Villa Julie degree programs have a core curriculum in the liberal arts and a unique career emphasis. The College runs a program called "Career Architecture", which is interwoven throughout the curriculum and allows students to plan strategically for their futures by developing resumes, practicing interviewing techniques, meeting with potential employers on-campus, and participating in internships and co-ops. Over the past five years, on average, 97% of Villa Julie graduates have been employeed or have started graduate school within six months of graduation.
Villa Julie offers bachelor's degrees in the following areas of study:
- Accounting
- Applied Mathematics
- Biology
- Biotechnology
- Business Administration
- Business Communications
- Business Information Systems
- Chemistry
- Computer Information Systems
- Early Childhood Education
- Early Childhood Leadership
- Elementary Education
- English Language and Literature
- Film, Video & Theatre
- Human Services
- Interdisciplinary Studies
- Medical Technology
- Nursing
- Nursing R.N. to B.S.
- Paralegal Studies
- Psychology
- Public History
- Visual Communication Design
[edit] Graduate Programs
Villa Julie offers four master's degrees in:
- Advanced Information Technologies
- Business and Technology Management
- Forensic Science
- Forensic Studies
Students interested in one of these programs who start at the College as freshmen are able to apply to the graduate programs as juniors, enabling them to complete both a bachelor's and a master's degree in five years.
