Celebrating 125 Years of Excellence

• Stetson University, founded in 1883, is an independent, private university that provides a transforming education in the liberal arts tradition, with a focus on values and academic excellence.
• Florida's first private university, Stetson today has two campuses and two satellite centers in central Florida. The College of Arts & Sciences, the School of Business Administration and the School of Music are at the university's 175-acre DeLand campus, a nationally designated historic district. The College of Law, the first in Florida, is at the Gulfport/St. Petersburg campus. Satellite centers are the Tampa Law Center in downtown Tampa and the Stetson University Center at Celebration near Orlando.
• The university serves a diverse student population of 3,700 in nationally recognized undergraduate, graduate and professional programs. The university's four colleges and schools offer more than 60 majors and minors in 13 degree programs. Stetson prides itself on its small classes, which foster collaborative learning and close interaction between students and their professors.
• In 1982, Stetson was the first private university in Florida to be granted a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest and most prestigious liberal arts and sciences honor society in the United States. Only 10 percent of institutions of higher education in the nation have achieved the honor of PBK membership.
• Core values guide Stetson University in providing a transformative education that prepares students for principled lives, professional achievement and engaged citizenship in the world. The essence of Stetson is a shared commitment by the university community to educate students to lead great lives.
• Building on a history of academic excellence, Stetson's outstanding faculty members foster a stimulating academic environment and provide strong intellectual leadership. The university has 256 full-time faculty, 95 percent of whom hold Ph.D. or equivalent degrees. The student-faculty ratio is 11:1.
• Stetson University consistently ranks among the best universities in the South in U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" edition, ranking third in the South for academic quality for 2009 and listed in the guide's "Great Schools, Great Prices." The Stetson College of Law is ranked among the top 100 in the nation.

Chronology of Stetson University Presidents

1. John F. Forbes, 1885-1903
2. Lincoln Hulley, 1904 to 1934
3. William Sims Allen, 1934 to 1947
4. J. Ollie Edmunds, 1948-1967
5. Paul F. Geren, 1967-1969
6. John E. Johns, 1969-1976
7. Pope A. Duncan, 1977-1986
8. H. Douglas Lee, 1987- to -2009
9. Wendy B. Libby, 2009-

For more information about Stetson's presidential history, visit the Stetson duPont-Ball Library's online Stetson Hall of Presidents.