About CSPB
The Center for the Study of the Port of Baltimore (CSPB) was established by Stevenson University following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024. The temporary closure of the Port of Baltimore revealed how little most people understood about the port's role in the daily life of Maryland and the nation. What began as an effort to better understand Baltimore's maritime community has since evolved into an interdisciplinary program of research examining how ports enable commerce, industry, government, and society.
Increasingly, the Center asks questions such as these: What human activities become possible because this cargo arrived here? Which organizations, communities, and national capabilities are enabled by this port? What happens when those flows are reduced, disrupted, or lost? Rather than viewing ports simply as places where cargo is transferred, the Center studies ports as operational systems whose daily activities enable countless human endeavors.
Drawing upon history, geography, economics, intelligence analysis, public policy, and related disciplines, CSPB examines the Port of Baltimore within the larger context of regional, national, and international transportation and maritime systems. Its work seeks to understand not only how ports operate, but what they make possible. Through comparative studies, historical investigation, and evidence-based analysis, the Center identifies the people, organizations, industries, and critical infrastructure whose daily activities depend upon maritime transportation.
The Center produces original studies, strategic analyses, educational materials, and public scholarship designed to assist government agencies, industry, educators, and the public in understanding the strategic importance of ports and maritime infrastructure. By making this often-invisible world visible, CSPB seeks to strengthen informed decision-making while fostering a deeper appreciation of the maritime community that enables modern life. Much of the Center's work is conducted by Stevenson University undergraduates under the mentorship of faculty, providing students with opportunities to participate in meaningful, publicly engaged scholarship.
While the Center is housed within Stevenson University's School of Humanities and Social Sciences, it is an institution-wide initiative that collaborates across disciplines and with partners throughout government, industry, education, and the nonprofit community.
We study what ports make possible.
