Over the course of 2025, The University of Baltimore found many ways to celebrate its first 100 years of academic excellence, transformative learning and civic engagement.
In January, we kicked off our Centennial year with a ribbon cutting for our history exhibit that highlighted some of the University’s most poignant and powerful moments.
Born in 1925, the University community has seen the world at war, the boom of technology and the Internet, protests in the streets for affairs both global and local, the peaks and valleys of an ever-changing economy, and so much more. It has seen eight presidents who have taken the University’s helm and guided it through its many eras.
OUR PROUD PAST
Lexzander Ernst, B.A. ’24, curated the exhibit following thorough research through the University’s archives. The exhibit featured 50 selected items from the University Photograph Collection and the Student Publications Collection, both held in the University of Baltimore's Special Collections and Archives. An online exhibit is now available to browse.
The Centennial’s launch party also included an engaging panel of University and community leaders and alumni. The community conversation covered UBalt’s commitment to public service and civic engagement, its dedication to opening access to education, and its steady ingenuity for ushering in emerging technologies to meet students where they are and ready them for the workplaces they desire to go.
Centennial celebrations picked up again in April when a longtime University tradition was supersized into the block party of the century. For our Centennial Rock the Block, we shut down Mt. Royal Avenue to welcome artists and vendors from our student and alumni communities to showcase their talents with the community.
Among the special guests were Maryland poet laureate Lady Brion, MFA '18, who gave spoken word performance from the center stage. She returned a month later to perform at the Centennial commencement for a captivated graduating class.
OUR CENTENNIAL PILLARS
Academic Excellence | Transformative Learning | Civic Engagement
During the year, several campus events were recast with a Centennial spin, inviting everyone to participate in the milestone anniversary. Annual events including the Women’s History Month celebration, Veterans Day, and Holidays and Traditions Around The World were all elevated around a Centennial theme.
The biggest celebration came in November when the University hosted its Grand Celebration at the M&T Bank Exchange in Baltimore.
Nearly 400 alumni, students, professors, families and friends of the institution attended the event, which culminated with a countdown, a cake and a balloon drop on a cheering crowd.
Guests got to browse several exhibits spread across the venues three floors that honored the University’s significance and impact.
OUR BRIGHT FUTURE
"Looking back is pretty special, but it's talking about the future of the University that matters the most,” UBalt President Kurt L. Schmoke told the Grand Celebration audience. “That's why we're here: To understand better how we are preparing to teach the courses that will make a difference in our lives, whether it's five years from now, or 50, or even 100.”
