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  5 Questions With...
Daraius Irani
Associate Vice President, DECO
Mark Helmken
Director, CGIS
Q: How is Towson University serving Maryland's state agencies and citizens? (Daraius)
A: Towson University formed the division of Economic and Community Outreach (DECO) in 2004 to better facilitate the applied research and community engagement role of the University. The seven centers within DECO are Information Systems Solutions (ISS), Center for Applied Information Technology (CAIT), Extended Education and Online learning (EEOL), Regional Economic Studies Institute (RESI), Towson Global, the DECO Data Center, and the Center for Geographic Information Services (CGIS).
Through strategic partnerships with state and local government agencies, DECO's applied research centers are providing services for Marylanders from helping them view their homestead tax credit to registering their car online.
Q: What is Md iMap and how can citizens use it? (Mark)
A: An example of how the Center for GIS is actively supporting Maryland is Maryland's Internet Map - MD iMap - a diverse and flexible "system" that provides a wide variety of products and services to the citizens and government employees in Maryland. It represents a centralized and authoritative collection of the most commonly used map data, such as roads, streams, place names, government boundaries, property information and detailed imagery.
Citizens access this data through web based applications hosted on MD iMap. Information is available on a variety of topics of interest to citizens; state budget expenditures, progress and status of federal stimulus projects to programs run by state agencies: reforestation, preservation of open space, preservation of agricultural lands, stream health, coastal activities, to mapping of Broad Band providers in the State. The Center for GIS is a key partner in MD iMap, hosting the infrastructure, developing applications and providing innovative leadership in support of the MD iMap.
Q: How has RESI helped make Maryland more efficient? (Daraius)
A: Towson University has assisted numerous state agencies in evaluating the effectiveness of proposed projects as well as verifying outcomes. RESI worked with the MdTA to verify that there were no errors in reporting E-Z pass toll revenues. RESI has also provided numerous counties with an analysis of proposed projects and whether these projects are financially feasible. To ensure that Maryland's participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative meets the stated objectives, Towson University is assisting Maryland's Department of Environment with assessing the program.
Q: How can businesses collaborate with CGIS and DECO? (Mark)
A: Businesses utilize GIS for analysis to support a wide variety of decisions by answering questions such as "where are my customers", "where should we locate our business", "where and who are my competitors?" "How has the population makeup for a territory changed over time?" Businesses can utilize CGIS and other DECO groups to gather, manage and analyze business intelligence for strategic and tactical planning as well as ongoing business activities.
Q: What is the best way to connect with RESI and DECO? (Daraius)
A: You can stay up to date by subscribing to our blog: www.tuoutreach.com. Myself and several of my colleagues post weekly about new projects we are working on and discuss issues facing Maryland from the economy to technology. We also host several networking events throughout the year; the next big event is the 14th annual Economic Outlook Conference on February 16th. This half-day conference includes the Regional Economic Outlook, an exciting panel of experts discussing federal monetary policy, and the results of our crowd-sourcing activity "What would YOU do?." Learn more at: www.towson.edu/conference.
Towson University 2016
 A Best Value, Once Again...
With a commitment to keeping our high quality education affordable and accessible, Towson University was selected as one of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine's 100 "best values in public colleges," a list ranking four-year institutions that deliver a stellar education at an affordable price. In the February 2011 issue, Towson is ranked at 78, a 19-place improvement from last year's ranking. Kiplinger's analyzes more than 500 public schools for both academic caliber--including admission data, test scores of incoming freshmen and graduation rates--and for total cost of tuition, fees, room and board.
2016 Plan | Guiding Principles
New in the News
Read up on the latest higher education issues that have appeared in the news recently:
 Legislative Bills, Hearings and Information
The following bills have been introduced to the legislature recently:
- SB 229 Education - General Assembly Scholarships - Modification of Programs, Bill is in the Senate, First Reading, Education, Health and Environmental Affairs
- HB 70 Budget Bill Fiscal Year 2012, Bill is in the House, First Reading Appropriations
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HB 71 Creation of State Debt - Maryland Consolidated Bond Loan of 2011, and the Maryland Consolidated Capital Bond Loand of 1996, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010, Bill is in the House, First Reading Appropriations
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HB 72 Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2011, Bill is in the House, First Reading Appropriations
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HB 127 State Board of Education - Financial Literacy Curriculum - Graduation Requirement, Bill is in the House, First Reading Ways and Means
- SB 109 Public Institutions of Higher Education - Course Credit - Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Examinations, Bill is in the Senate, First Reading, Education, Health and Environmental Affairs, Hearing 2/9 at 1 pm
- SB 167 Higher Education - Tuition Charges - Maryland High School Students, Bill is in the Sentate, First reading Education, Health and Environmental Affairs
The following hearing is scheduled:
Summary of the University System of Maryland Report on the Textbook Law of 2009
February 2, 2 pm
Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee
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