Woodbury University Celebrates Its Longevity

Woodbury University celebrated its 113th anniversary Wednesday and its 10th anniversary in Burbank with a score of speeches and a display of historic memorabilia, including a handful of classic automobiles.

The school, which specializes in business and design studies, is the third-oldest private institution of higher education in Southern California.

“It’s very exciting,” said Stella Atkinson, director of development at the school. “We’ve been around a long time now and this is a great excuse to celebrate, a great way to help get known.”

This year the school began distributing notebook computers to full-time freshmen to acquaint them with the technology and to provide an integrated technology and education environment, according to school officials.

The school was founded as Woodbury College by a San Francisco educator who, by opening the downtown Los Angeles school, created the first business education program west of the Mississippi River, according to school officials.

Despite a rich history, Woodbury operates in relative obscurity, overshadowed by larger universities in the region such as UCLA and USC. But the anonymity does not come cheaply to the school’s roughly 1,200 students--tuition is $15,000 per year.

The school’s 22-acre Burbank campus, complete with library, classroom and administrative buildings, is home to roughly 20% of the school’s student body. But, like other small schools, the students can’t cheer for a football team or even a debate team--Woodbury does not have intercollegiate sports or many academic clubs common at other universities.

“We’re small,” Atkinson said. “People come here who know what they want.”