It’s a crisp fall morning in 2030. A fourth-year strolls across North Campus after class, cutting through the Academic Quad. He spots his friends relaxing near the new Performing Arts Center. They talk about an upcoming concert, laughing about how often they’ve ended up here since it opened.
They remember the fall of 2026, their freshman year, when the Berman Family Performing Arts Center first came alive. They spent that season watching plays, concerts and student showcases almost every week. Their memories of Stevenson are tied to this quad — to laughter, late nights, and the feeling of belonging.
Here in 2025, that future is still ahead. The Performing Arts Center, now under construction, is the most ambitious arts project in Stevenson’s history. When it opens in fall 2026, it will become the centerpiece of the North Campus Quadrangle — a space built for creativity and connection.
“The completion of the Berman Family Performing Arts Center will be a critical step in supporting our students who wish to participate in a full range of performing arts,” President Elliot Hirshman said.
A New Hub for Campus Life
For nearly two decades, Stevenson’s campus in Owings Mills has expanded and evolved. The PAC joins the Manning Academic Center, Zaffere Library, and School of Design to form the heart of North Campus. Construction will finish by fall 2026, but students are already seeing new walkways, seating areas and landscaping around the site.
Inside, the building will feature the Samuelson Foundation Blackbox Theater and the Phyllis Cole Friedman Concert Hall. Together, they total 38,000 square feet and seat about 650 people. The Blackbox will hold 250; the Concert Hall about 400.
Vice President of Marketing and Digital Communications John Buettner said the building’s versatility was key to its design.
“This facility will serve in a multifunctional way,” Buettner said. “Our Blackbox theater can be arranged in different ways — a center stage, a proscenium setup, even a fashion runway.”
Academic and Cultural Impact
The Performing Arts Center will open new opportunities for students across disciplines. Theater, film, music and fashion majors will all use the space, but collaboration will stretch far beyond those programs.
Students will work with lighting grids, sound systems and costume rooms — learning through hands-on production. A nursing major might sing in the chorus. A chemistry student might join the band. The PAC will be a place where every major can find something to enjoy.
For prospective students, the new center is also a strong selling point. It adds to Stevenson’s appeal as a place that values both academic rigor and creativity.
Student Excitement and Community Growth
Many students say they’re eager to see the campus grow. The PAC will create new ways to gather, study, and perform — and will also welcome the larger community through the Arts Alive initiative and a series of visiting artist events.
Walking through the Quad today, you can already see the future taking shape. New picnic tables fill with students studying in the sun. The landscaping is coming together, and the space feels more alive every week.
Buettner said the university hopes the center becomes a bridge between Stevenson and the local community.
“We hope that the community will be drawn to the things that Stevenson is doing,” Buettner said, “and that our students have an opportunity to shine and show their abilities to larger audiences.”
Looking Ahead
The Berman Family Performing Arts Center will be dedicated in spring 2026 and fully open that fall. It marks another step in Stevenson’s evolution — from a commuter campus to a vibrant academic and cultural destination.
But even as new buildings rise, the heart of Stevenson stays the same. Every semester, students cross the Quad, share conversations and build friendships that define their college years.
Picture that same group of friends in 2030, leaving the Quad at sunset and walking toward the Performing Arts Center for a concert. Music drifts from the open doors. The air is warm and golden. Their college careers are winding down, but the sense of community remains — built on the very stage that helped shape it.
Hirshman says of the PAC’s future goals: “Success will be realized in our communal gatherings, in the enjoyment and inspiration they engender, in our students’ experiences to participate and perform on stage.”
