The Stetson University Center

In September 2001 Stetson University opened its new $7.2 million graduate studies center at Celebration.

The Stetson University Center offers master’s degree programs in business administration, marriage and family therapy, school counseling and educational leadership, with courses in professional development for educators, information technology and music.

The Stetson University Center also includes state-of-the-art facilities for business case studies, a Family Counseling Center and an Educational Training Center. Our Arts Academy promotes various activities related to digital and entertainment arts.

The 36,000-square-foot Stetson University Center is located on 1.1 acres at 800 Celebration Ave. in downtown Celebration, across from the K-8 Celebration School and Founder’s Park. Dr. Michael Mekdeci, a Stetson associate vice president, is the center’s director.

Technology to support and enhance learning is a key component of the facility’s design and programs. For example, the Stetson University Center’s teaching and learning spaces are equipped with SMART Boards, which are interactive whiteboards that turn professors’ computers and projectors into powerful tools for teaching, collaborating and presenting. With a computer image projected onto the SMART Boards, professors can simply press the board’s touch-sensitive surface to access and control any application, while allowing students to download and print the applications from one of many network computers. The center’s electronic environment allows mobility and network access in every room.

In order to provide a recognizable icon for both Celebration and Stetson University, the New York architectural firm Deamer + Phillips designed a semi-circular building that features a continuous façade, avoiding front, back or side distinctions. The architects blended the center’s design with bordering wetlands, which have been carefully preserved. With a window in every classroom, the pristine wetlands provide an aesthetic view for faculty, staff and students. Shades of wetland green are incorporated into the center’s interior décor and complement the exterior.

Stetson University’s involvement with Celebration began in 1992 when faculty members provided direction and leadership in the development of Osceola County’s Celebration School, which opened in 1996. The Stetson University Center works with the public Celebration School in a professional development consortium with Johns Hopkins University, the University of Central Florida and Auburn University.

Florida’s first private university, Stetson University serves around 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students at its main campus in DeLand, and more than 700 at the College of Law in St. Petersburg. Stetson consistently ranks among the South’s top regional universities in U.S. News and World Report’s annual “America’s Best Colleges” edition. A comprehensive university committed to undergraduate and graduate teaching, Stetson emphasizes faculty-student research and offers distinctive programs in law, business, music and the arts and sciences. A Stetson hallmark is the incorporation of values, ethics and social responsibility into education.

Celebration is an innovative new community that successfully combines architecture, education, health and technology to promote a strong sense of community. Founded in 1994, Celebration is home to approximately 8,000 residents, two Osceola County public schools, an 18-hole public golf course, parks and recreation areas, a medical center and a downtown with some 20 shops and restaurants.