Founded in 1994, Saint Sebastian Elite College blends the intimacy of a small liberal-arts institution with the ambition of a much larger one.
Saint Sebastian Elite College was founded in the autumn of 1994 by a small circle of educators, philanthropists and community leaders — chief among them our current chairman, Walter Glover — who believed Central Florida deserved a residential liberal-arts college of its own. They chose Celebration for its walkable town-plan and civic ambition, and they named the college for Saint Sebastian: patron of soldiers, athletes and those who persevere.
From an inaugural class of 74 students to today's enrollment of over 1,400, we have never lost sight of the founders' vision — small seminars, dedicated professors, and an insistence that a college is not a factory but a community.
Today, Saint Sebastian sits on a 62-acre campus of red-brick colonials, palm-lined walks and modern research facilities, minutes from the Walt Disney World Resort and Orlando's cultural corridor.
We pursue knowledge honestly, uphold academic integrity, and welcome ideas we disagree with as vigorously as those we cherish.
An education is incomplete without ethical formation. Our honor code, service commitments and mentorship traditions build character alongside intellect.
We hold ourselves to demanding standards in the classroom, the studio, the laboratory and the field — and we help every student rise to meet them.
"When we founded Saint Sebastian in 1994, we made a simple promise: that every student who walked through our gates would be known — not as a number, not as a data point, but as a person with gifts, hopes and a purpose. Three decades later, that promise is our proudest tradition."
"To the students who study here, the families who trust us with their sons and daughters, and the alumni who carry our motto out into the world — thank you. Your college is stronger than it has ever been, and its best chapters are still being written."
— Walter Glover, Chairman of the Board of Trustees
College founded. First class of 74 students enrolls in temporary classrooms on Celebration Boulevard.
Whitmore Memorial Library opens, dedicated to founding trustee Eleanor Whitmore.
Enrollment surpasses 1,000; School of Business and Economics is formally chartered.
New Science and Technology Building opens with expanded research labs and a data-science suite.
Honors College launched under the direction of Dr. Isabel Hartwell.
College celebrates 30 years and endowment surpasses $118 million.
