History

Founded in 1980, Loyola's Joseph A. Sellinger, S.J. School of Business and Management provides academically challenging management education inspired by Jesuit traditions and values. Guided by the philosophy that true education informs students’ minds, bodies, and spirits, the Sellinger School’s undergraduate and graduate programs strive to combine knowledge, preparation for leadership, personal development, and professional certification with a commitment to ethics and the values of service.

While the School is headquartered at Loyola's main campus along North Charles Street in Baltimore, it also schedules classes at Loyola's graduate campuses in Timonium and Columbia to better meet the needs of working students.

Sellinger's timeline of key milestones are as follows:

  • 1937 – Loyola first offered courses in accounting and business administration at the undergraduate level.
  • 1943 – The baccalaureate degree in business administration was first awarded; the accounting major was added shortly thereafter.
  • 1967 – The Master of Business Administration was first offered.
  • 1973 – Loyola introduced the Executive MBA program, the first of its kind in the Baltimore-Washington area and one of the first 10 Executive MBA programs in the country.
  • 1980 – Loyola established the School of Business and Management to provide strategic management for business programs.
  • 1984 – The business school was formally named The Joseph A. Sellinger, S.J. School of Business and Management in honor of the late Reverend Joseph A. Sellinger.
  • 1985 – The Sellinger School initiated the Fellows MBA program to serve rising young executives.
  • 1988 – The Sellinger School earned accreditation in all programs by AACSB (The International Association for Management Education). 
  • 1990 – The accounting department earned specialized national accreditation from AACSB. Loyola is the only private institution in the state of Maryland with accreditation in both business and accounting. This is a distinction earned by only 1.5% of business schools worldwide.
  • 2000 – The School moved into its own dedicated building, an award-winning, 50,000-square-foot structure with modern elements and state-of-the-art technology designed to blend seamlessly with the Evergreen Campus’ traditional collegiate Gothic architecture.
  • 2008 – The School hired its first female dean, Karyl B. Leggio, Ph.D.
  • 2010 – The School launched its first full-time graduate business program, the Emerging Leaders MBA
  • 2014 – The School started its second full-time graduate program, a specialized Master of Accounting (MAcc).
  • 2015 – The School hired Kathleen A. Getz, Ph.D., as dean
  • 2017 – An interdisciplinary Master of Science in Data Science program was launched in conjunction with the Loyola College of Arts and Sciences.
  • 2017 – The accounting program earned endorsement from the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), one of the largest associations dedicated to advancing the management accounting profession.