Stevenson Receives $100,000 Gift from Former University Board Chair Kevin Byrnes
Gift Supports Scholarships for Education and Design Students
Stevenson University is pleased to announce it has received a $100,000 gift from former Trustee and Board Chair Kevin Byrnes. His gift will support two scholarships that he previously established in 2006 for Stevenson education and design students: the Maureen Knerr Byrnes Endowed Scholarship for Teacher Education in honor of his late wife, a former elementary teacher, and the Helen Fitzgerald Byrnes Endowed Scholarship for Graphic Design in honor of his mother’s great love and devotion to the arts.
“My relationship with Stevenson has been one of the most rewarding of my life,” said Kevin Byrnes. “Stevenson’s emphasis on personalized support, affordability, and career preparation means generations of students can truly achieve their aspirations and look forward to success in their chosen professions. This is an educational mission and legacy that I am proud to support.”
Kevin served on Villa Julie and Stevenson’s Board of Trustees from 2003 through 2015, and was elected Chairman of the Board in 2005, succeeding the late Ted Herget. He led the university through its expansion to Owings Mills, its name change, and the exponential growth of its academic, residential, and athletic facilities. Since leaving the Board, Kevin has served on Stevenson’s President’s Advisory Council.
“Kevin has been devoted to the mission of Stevenson and the success of our students for two decades,” said Elliot Hirshman, President. “We thank him for his ongoing support of our students’ academic and career aspirations as well as for his distinguished years of service on our Board that helped lay the foundation for the university we have become.”
Kevin worked for more than 40 years in the retail and commercial banking industries. He began his career in 1969 at Bankers Trust Company in New York City, and later spent 25 years with Chase Manhattan Bank in various executive management positions in Maryland as well as New York State. From 2002 to 2009, Kevin was President/COO and Director of Provident Bank, headquartered in Baltimore, until it was acquired by M&T Bank in May 2009. Provident was the largest independent financial institution in the Maryland and Northern Virginia marketplaces at that time and was a leader in retail, commercial real estate, and small business lines. From 2010 until he retired in 2015, he served as Chairman of the Board of Bay Bank, a Lutherville, Maryland-based bank with assets of approximately $500 million and 12 branches located in the Baltimore metropolitan area.
Stevenson University serves more than 2,700 traditional undergraduates on its campus in Owings Mills, Maryland, as well as graduate and professional students through Stevenson University Online and doctoral students in its Doctor of Psychology program. Stevenson is driven by an educational mission to provide exceptional experiences in and out of the classroom, create career connections that foster students’ professional success after college, and offer a supportive community in which all students can grow intellectually, socially, and professionally.