News and Events

Recognized as a thriving visual arts center for Maryland, the college offers music performances, films, dance concerts, debates, lectures and workshops, theatre productions, a daily campus television show, and art exhibitions. You can find information on upcoming events at:

• Arts and Culture Calendar of Events
• Center for the Arts Box Office

Students help Word on the Street

Posted Feb 26, 2013

Assistant Professor, Jessica Ring's students from Graphic Design for Social Issues do not just sit in the classroom.  They are working with, Word on the Street, helping design layouts for each edition. More

.Photo from left to right:
Tony Simmons (WOTS), TU Students Brianna Oxenford & Courtney Stasko

An Inspiration to Many

Posted Feb 19, 2013

Your past does not always dictate who you will become. Based on his youth few would have guessed Charles S. Dutton would be the man he is today.  Dutton graduated from Towson State University's Theatre Department in ’78 and went on to the Yale School of Drama. Dutton has performed his one-man play based on his life, "From Jail to Yale: Serving Time on Stage," at the Logan Center for the Arts, at the University of Houston, and at Morgan State University, to name a few. More

Asian Arts & Culture Center Brings Colette Fu

Posted Feb 15, 2013

Photographer and artist Colette Fu will demonstrate her talent during a workshop March 2. For more information.

"The Glass Menagerie" Continues at MET

Posted Feb14, 2013

Towson Professor Peter Wray directs the Maryland Ensemble Theatre's production of "The Glass Menagerie."  Not that long ago, October, Towson's Department of Theatre Arts was wrapped up in their own production of the play.  

Photo: "The Glass Menagerie" Towson University Department of Theatre Arts 10/2012

WHNPA Still Photographer of the Year

Posted Feb 13, 2013

Alumni, Patrick Smith, was named Photographer of the Year by the White House News Photographers Association. Patrick was a mass communication major and is now a freelance photojournalist in the Baltimore-Washington area.

More of Smith’s photography can also be seen on his website and blog.

Winter Break Debate

Posted Feb 13, 2013

Towson University Forensics students spent their winterbreak debating at three tournaments and came back with a number of victories. Two debate teams, Ameena Ruffin and Korey Johnson and Kevin Whitley and Lenny Herrera, traveled to Texas for 12 days of competition at two different universities. The two teams will travel to the district tournament in February to compete for a spot at the National Debate Tournament in Ogden, Utah, this April. More

Photograph L to R: Korey Johnson and Ameena Ruffin

A Surprising Response

Posted Feb 14, 2013

Towson University acting major Matthew Jeffers wrote a letter to the Baltimore Ravens simply to provide some perspective to the team, who was reeling from a three-game losing streak. What happened next surprised everyone. Read More

Department of Art + Design, Art History, Art Education

Playing with Light

Posted Feb 21, 2013

This Friday, February 22 at 2pm in Smith Hall, Room 420, Jenn Figg and Matt McCormack will discuss their collaborative research on electromechanical kinetic light sculptures.  More

Student Works

Posted Nov 30, 2012

Graduating seniors from Towson University's Department of Art + Design showcase work from their final semester.  Focusing on pieces produced in the capstone BFA-Bachelor of Fine Arts-program.

Beyond the Parking Lot

Posted Aug 24, 2012
From August 24 – November 4 Faculty Amanda Burnham will be one of several Artists on display in the Terrace Gallery at Artisphere. Inspired by Joni Mitchell’s lyrics “they paved paradise and they put up a parking lot,” the exhibit hopes to “motivate the viewer to think how we have used the land that surrounds us in our everyday life…. and will instigate the discussion of “where do we go from here?” The answer is for the viewer to determine.”

• Artisphere

Volt Award Finalist 2012
Posted May 18, 2012
The Object Lab in the Department of Art + Design directed by Jan Baum was a finalist in the Technology Implementer category of the Volt Awards. The Volt awards technology implementer category recognizes organizations that use existing technology to enhance service offerings. The object lab at Towson which opened this past year is a research-based education, state of the art, rapid technologies and digital fabrication lab engaged in a range of digital technologies: 3-D imaging, digital modeling and rapid prototyping.
• smartCEO
• Object Lab

Department of Dance

A Long time in the Works
Posted May 18, 2012
Susan Mann choreographed a piece, which debuted at Columbus Dance Theatre’s show, “New Dance Project”, over mother’s day weekend. “She had been thinking about making the dance for 13 years, since experiencing the “tornado of emotions” she felt when her daughter left for college.”
• The Columbus Dispatch, May 10, 2012

American Dance Institute Artist-in-Residence
Posted May 18, 2012
Vincent Thomas will be an artist-in-residence with the American Dance Institute (ADI) in June 2013 with the Festival of New Works, which will showcase brand-new choreographic material from select choreographers in the D.C. area. After a year of pressure-free processes and free space, Thomas and two other D.C. choreographers will premiere works exclusively to the ADI audience. ADI established the Incubator as a way to provide a literal and emotional space around forward-thinking artists in order to cultivate and introduce new important works to the world of American dance.

Department of Electronic Media and Film

Davis's Video is Making a Mark

Posted Nov 30, 2012

Assistant Professor Phil Davis's animated music video, "The Living Things", won "best music video" at the Bradford Animation Festival in Bradford, UK.

• Check out the winners page here.

Race to Nowhere

Posted Oct. 18, 2012

Join students, as well as faculty, from the College of Education and Electronic Media & Film Department for a free screening of the acclaimed educational documentary, "Race to Nowhere" followed by a panel discussion Thursday, October 25th from 6-8:30pm in the Lecture Hall on the Towson University Campus. 

• More Information

Fun New Animation
Posted May 18, 2012
Phil Davis, Electronic Media & Film, spent two years creating an animated music video for his friends, the Spinto Band. The video premiered May 15 on National Public Radio's "All Songs Considered" blog.

• To view it

Department of Mass Communication and Communication Studies

Forensics teams bring home the West Point sword

Posted Nov 2, 2012

Two forensics policy debate teams traveled to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point Oct. 20-12 and came home having won the entire tournament. Sophomore Ameena Ruffin and freshman Korey Johnson comprised one team, sophomore Kevin Whitley and freshman Lenny Herrera the other. The team as a whole decided who would advance to the final round, and Kevin Whitley and Lenny Herrera, the 7th seed, were chosen to compete in the tournament finals.

More

Professor Becker in the News
Posted Feb 17, 2012
Professor Amy Becker was quoted in the article, “Maryland native at center of Komen controversy steps down,” Baltimore Sun, February 8, 2012.

• Professor Becker was also quoted in Should Obama Go on Vacation While Markets are So Skittish? CNBC, August 12, 2011.
• She has published an article to appear in Social Science Quarterly exploring what factors influence public support for same-sex marriage. The article, "New Voters, New Outlook? Predispositions, Social Networks, and the Changing Politics of Gay Civil Rights," examines public acceptance of homosexuality and support for same-sex marriage across age cohorts.
• She attended The White House Twitter Town Hall  primetime news conference with President Obama on Wednesday, July 22 at 9 p.m. Eastern Time. Becker will be among the 140 individuals who follow the White House Twitter feed and signed up for a chance to attend.  The 140 is the number of characters allowed in a tweet. Becker recounted her experience as one of about 30 "tweeps" in the audience at President Barack Obama's July 6 Twitter Town Hall, in her blog, Fresh Politics, New Media

• Baltimore Sun Article

•

Professor Vatz - Moderator
Posted Nov 2, 2012
Professor Vatz took part in the upcoming election by moderating an Oct. 23 debate between District 2 Congressional candidates Dutch Ruppersberger, the Democratic incumbent, and Republican challenger Nancy Jacobs, a Maryland state senator representing District 34. Their debate focused on issues affecting Congress: the budget, taxes and foreign policy challenges (Iran, Syria, Libya).

Department of Music

Music Faculty will Host 3rd Annual Jazz Festival 2013
Posted Nov 2, 2012
Jim McFalls and Dave Ballou, hosted the 2nd Annual Jazz Festival January 20th and 21st, 2012. The event was an educational experience for all involved and is returning January 2013.

TU Symphonic Band Travels Beyond Towson
Posted March 15, 2012
Dana Rothlisberger, music Professor and the Towson University Symphonic Band were selected to perform a concert for the College Band Directors National Association Eastern Division conference at Indiana University of Pennsylvania on March 2, 2012. The featured soloist was Marguerite Levin, clarinet professor at TU from 2002-2011. Rothlisberger and the Symphonic Band also presented a Performance-Plus clinic for the Maryland Music Educators Association convention at the Baltimore Convention Center on February 24, 2012.

Department of Theatre Arts

Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region 2, January 2013

Posted Feb 21, 2013
The Department of Theatre Arts successfully hosted the festival. Highlights of the festival were 8 full length plays performed by schools around the region, over 1100 attendees and a Keynote address by John Glover.

WBJC Inside Look at The Glass Menagerie

Posted Nov 7, 2012

Director of The Glass Menagerie and theatre arts professor Stephen Nunns provides his view of the production. Check out the interview.

Continuing to Learn
Posted May 18, 2012
Tom Casciero has been invited to attend the Margolis Method Certification Program for university professors and has been given a partial scholarship from the Association of Theatre Movement Educators. The Margolis Method is a highly dynamic physical approach to actor training that synthesizes the skill-sets of Actor, Director and Playwright. This residency program uses the praxis of academic and physical training to give theatre educators advanced techniques and pedagogies for use in the classroom or profession.

Supporting Theatre Across Countries
Posted March 15, 2012
Associate Professor, Naoko Maeshiba, worked on SHINSAI: Theatres for Japan, a fundraising event for Japanese theatre artists in the northern part of Japan hit by a great quake and tsunami. She was an assistant director/interpreter for the event at Cooper Union in New York and contributed visual expression as a choreographer/performer for the event at Center Stage in Baltimore.

TU Dance Team Wins 14th Title
Posted March 15, 2012
Tom Cascella, dance team coach, led The Towson University Dance Team to win the 2012 National Dance Alliance (NDA) Collegiate National Championship their 14th Consecutive National Championship, in Daytona Beach, Florida. 
• WBAL-TV, March 12, 2012

• Web cast video, 2011
• CBS Local News, 2011
• Press Release 2011 (Optimized PDF)

Asian Arts and Culture

Note Worthy Exhibition
Posted March 6, 2012
The Asian Arts Gallery is exhibiting works by iona rozeal brown, February 9 - May 12.
• BmoreArt, March 6

Fears Do Not Stop Performers
Suewhei Shieh, director, brought performers from Japan who took the stage at Towson despite fears over disasters at home.
• Carroll County Times, March 22, 2011

College of Fine Arts and Communication
Center for the Arts, Room 3001 (map)
Hours: Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Phone: 410-704-3288
Fax: 410-704-6026