The New Performing Arts Center | Stevenson University
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The New Performing Arts Center
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Stevenson University News
The New Performing Arts Center
The Sandra and Malcolm Berman Family Performing Arts Center
A New Venue to Experience Theater, Music, Dance, and Culture at Stevenson
Opening Fall 2026
Construction has begun on Stevenson University’s new Performing Arts Center. With a major gift from the Sandra and Malcolm Berman Charitable Foundation, the university has received significant support for this exciting new venue. In honor of their generosity, Stevenson will name the new facility the Sandra and Malcolm Berman Family Performing Arts Center.
The 38,000-square-foot facility will support an enriching campus life of theater, music, dance, cultural events, fashion shows, and guest speakers. The Center will be adjacent to our new Philip A. Zaffere Library and join the Manning Academic Center and School of Design, Arts, and Communication as part of Stevenson’s North campus academic hub.
The Center will serve the students of our Theatre and Media Performance program, providing a new venue for the program’s stage productions. In addition, it will create a new home and performance space for our music and dance programs and venues for our students involved in other fine arts projects through our English Language and Literature, Fashion Design and Fashion Merchandising, Film and Moving Image, and Graphic Design programs.
Stevenson values its relationship with our greater community, and the new Sandra and Malcolm Berman Family Performing Arts Center will allow the university to host groups and organizations for special events and programs.
Sandra and Malcolm Berman Family Performing Arts Center
Dedication Ceremony
Tuesday, March 31, 2026
Stevenson University officially celebrated the opening of the new Sandra and Malcolm Berman Family Performing Arts Center on March 31, 2026. The event was attended by Maryland Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller, Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier, philanthropist and Stevenson Board of Trustees member Sandra Berman, Phyllis and Louis Friedman, and Baltimore County Councilmen Izzy Patoka and Julian Jones, Jr. as well as Stevenson staff, faculty, and students. The dedication concluded with a ribbon cutting ceremony and inaugural musical performances by Stevenson students and members of the Maryland Opera. The 38,000-square-foot Berman Family Performing Arts Center is the capstone addition to Stevenson’s bustling North Campus Academic Hub and represents the university’s strong commitment to the arts. As the new home for the performing arts at Stevenson, the Center will enrich campus life by hosting student theater, music, and dance performances, as well as cultural events, fashion shows, and guest speakers throughout the year.
Supporting the Performing Arts Center
The University welcomes philanthropic support for the new Center.
If you would like to know more about how your gift can help enrich the educational experience of Stevenson students today and for decades to come, please contact Chris Vaughan, Vice President of University Advancement, at
cvaughan@stevenson.edu
or call 443-334-2624.
“I hope you will consider supporting Stevenson with a gift for this exciting new addition to our campus. Our highest priority is the academic, social, and professional development of our students. This project will provide our students in the performing arts with the facilities needed to help them learn and develop their skills at the highest level. In addition, it will help us make great strides in our mission to provide the exceptional experiences, top-tier facilities, and supportive environment that fosters their growth and expands their potential for post-college success.”
Elliot L. Hirshman, Ph.D.
President of Stevenson University
Video Updates
March 2026 | Stevenson University’s State-of-the-Art Performance Venues
December 2025 | Sandra and Malcolm Berman Family Performing Arts Center Progress
November 2025 | Construction is Underway on the Berman Family Performing Arts Center
April 2025 | Sandra and Malcolm Berman Family Performing Arts Center Progress
November 2024 | Construction is Underway on the Berman Family Performing Arts Center
July 2024 | Construction Starts on the Berman Family Performing Arts Center
January 2024 | About The Sandra and Malcolm Berman Family Performing Arts Center
Architectural renderings of Stevenson’s new Performing Arts Center
Construction Progress of Stevenson’s new Performing Arts Center
Lights, Stage, Action!
Facilities planned for the New Performing Arts Center include:
The Herman & Walter Samuelson Foundation Theater
Phyllis Cole Concert Hall
The Beverly K. & Jerome M. Fine Foundation Lobby
The James and Jacqueline Stradtner Café
The Bozzuto Family Charitable Trust Box Office
The Peggy and Yale Gordon Trust Lighting and Audio Control Room
The Nick and Mary Mangione and Family Marquee
Luke Edwin Dorsey Music Wing Vestibule
Alpha Landscaping East Hall
Ford Family Green Room
Dunn Theater Director’s Office
Harry E. Tsakalos ’96 Collaboration Room
PMM Collaboration Room
Scene Shop
Support Spaces
News
Stevenson Receives $1 Million Naming Gift from Phyllis and Louis Friedman for New Concert Hall
Stevenson’s New Berman Family Performing Arts Center Rises on North Campus
Stevenson University Receives $1 Million Naming Gift for New Black Box Theater
Stevenson University Announces Naming Gift for New Performing Arts Center
Barbara and Tom Bozzuto Donate $150,000 to Stevenson’s New Performing Arts Center
Fine Foundation Gives $500,000 to Support Stevenson’s New Performing Arts Center
Our Educational and Career Mission
Originally founded in 1947 as Villa Julie College, today Stevenson University serves more than 3,800 students—traditional undergraduate as well as graduate, professional, and doctoral students—on campus and online.
In and out of the classroom, Stevenson provides its students with exceptional experiences and connections to careers in a close-knit community that supports their academic, social, and post-college professional success. This approach has produced very positive results. Our annual post-graduation surveys regularly show that more than 94% of its alumni are working or attending graduate or professional school within six months of graduation.
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