Stetson University, founded in 1883 in historic DeLand, Florida, has been educating students for over a century thanks to the passionate vision of the town's early promoter, Henry Addison DeLand. DeLand, a New Yorker with a dream, wanted his newly adopted town to be distinctive in rural Central Florida. Since the state had no four-year college, his foresight brought to fruition the excellent educational facility we have today.