This year's showcase exhibitors, while diverse in their specialties and programs, have one thing in common--they all rely on partnerships to further their work and missions.
The Voice Writing Center for Radio Captioning at Towson University is making captioned radio a reality. In collaboration with NPR, the International Center for Accessible Radio Technology (ICART) has developed a new methodology which combines "voice writing" technology and a proprietary editing system to efficiently caption radio programming.
The Voice Writing Center for Radio Captioning has the potential to change the way that people with hearing loss access the radio and the technology could be expanded into other areas including radio captioning for diverse populations.
The Center for GIS (CGIS) is a leading provider of GIS solutions and has been helping government, businesses, and non-profits gain cost-effective access to the power of GIS since the early 1990s. The CGIS mission is to make GIS technology accessible and relevant, and to empower our partners to use our geospatial solutions independent of their assistance.
CGIS is currently working with education professionals across the state of Maryland to bring GIS technology into the classroom in order to train teachers, students, and others to use mapping programs effectively.
TowsonGlobal is Towson University's business incubator for early-stage companies. The Incubator provides support to entrepreneurs, both on campus and off, in order to help them grow and succeed in a competitive global market.
One sector of focus for TowsonGlobal is innovations in education, and the incubator is supporting initiatives that will help bring new educational technologies to the classroom, including virtual classrooms.
The new Supply Chain Innovation Lab is a state-of-the-art facility that allows students to explore the latest technologies and business practices relevant to supply chain management. The lab provides student access to operational and research applications, while allowing a flexible teaching facility for faculty.
Students from the Supply Chain Management program are putting the skills they learn in the lab to use on real world projects with the Maryland Port Authority, the TU Procurement Department, and others.
The Department of Family Studies and Community Development requires service-learning and internships as part of the students' academic preparation to enter the family and human services major. Both opportunities allow students to work with community agencies to gain real-world experience.
The service-learning and internship requirements help to produce students who have the skills necessary to begin work in the human services fields, while also offering those students and their services to community organizations around Maryland.
The Towson UTeach program prepares students for certification as a secondary education teacher (grades 7-12) in a science or mathematics content area. The program allows students to complete their Bachelor of Science degree and all course work for middle and high school teacher certification in Maryland in four years. Towson UTeach, based off of a program at the University of Texas Austin, provides a new way to produce teachers who are prepared to enter the workforce and educate the next generation of Marylanders. Towson University Presidential Scholar for Teacher and Leader Preparation, Dr. Nancy Grasmick, has been very involved in the development and implementation of the Towson UTeach program.
The Center for Professional Studies (CPS) works with employers, students, and government agencies to create continuing education programs to help fill critical skills gaps in Maryland's workforce. CPS collaborates with expert Towson University faculty and leading professionals to create industry-driven customized training and professional development programs.
Working hand in hand with MSDE, CPS using the latest learning management technology to provide 6,500 Maryland teachers with exclusive and interactive content on how to teach the new common core curriculum.
Professional Science Master's programs at Towson University allow students to pursue advanced training and research while also developing workplace skills. These programs involve academic training, as well as professional training, including internships and other work opportunities. They are closely linked the identified needs of our regional industries.
The Applied Physics program gives students a specialized knowledge of the field of applied physics, while also teaching them real-world skills, such as lab techniques, computational and numerical modeling, and data analysis. The Forensic Science program focuses on molecular biochemistry, chemistry, and DNA analysis and gives students the skills to work as forensic scientists in business, industry, and government.
The School of Emerging Technologies (SET) works to advance interdisciplinary and collaborative educational and research programs that address the development, application, implications and ramifications of emerging technologies. The SET works with various external partners including community colleges, government agencies, and technology-based industries to partner on research projects.
The Regional Economic Studies Institute (RESI) provides an array of economic analysis and business consulting services to public and private entities. Some of the core services provided by RESI include forecasting, economic and fiscal impact analysis, business process consulting, and technical writing.
For over 10 years, RESI has provided key analysis and research related to the Maryland childcare subsidy program funded through the MSDE's Early Childhood Development Division.
The Center for Application and Innovation Research in Education (CAIRE) is a center of the University System of Maryland housed at Towson University. CAIRE is supported by faculty and staff from TU's College of Education, UMBC, Loyola, UMES, and RESI. The mission of CAIRE is to to assist the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) with the evaluation of activities associated with the Race to the Top (RTTT) grant, as well as implementation of the Common Core State Standards for Maryland.
The Anthropology by the Wire project brings together community college and four-year university students to perform anthropological research projects in various neighborhoods around Baltimore. Students utilize diverse methodologies and forms of data gathering including visual anthropology, participant observation, and social network analysis.
Students that participate in Anthropology by the Wire get the opportunity to learn how to research and analyze social issues in an urban community while raising awareness of those issues.
The T. Rowe Price Finance Lab offers the experience of Wall Street's top trading firms. It allows students to use computer programs to value securities and investment opportunities, use the latest Bloomberg numerical algorithms, and manage virtual stock portfolios. Attendees will be able to learn more about the Finance Lab and how it is helping to produce students ready to enter the business world. A faculty representative from the Department of Finance will be on hand to explain the software installed in the lab and will answer questions you may have.
The Towson University Career Center assists students and recent alumni with their career planning and implementation. The Career Center works to connect students with employers through the Hire@TU database, career fairs, networking events, and more. The Career Center has many resources for employers to connect with the university in order to find interns and employees for their organizations.
The Human Factors Research Team provides a vehicle for the research, practice, and teaching of human factors and ergonomics (HFE) knowledge, skills, and techniques. The team researches the best practices of HFE in the workplace and is working to develop and implement a universal HFE assessment tool.
The TU Human Factors Research Team recently competed in the Annual Ergonomic Design Competition, where they received honorable mentions and were only the second team of psychology students to ever compete in the competition. The competition allowed the team to assess, design, and present their solutions to real-world human factors and ergonomics problems.
The Department of Nursing’s Simulation Clinical Education Lab allows nursing students to learn through active participation in clinically based patient-care scenarios. Simulation experiences are used to promote decision making and prioritization of nursing-care interventions at all levels of the undergraduate program. The department has a variety of mannequin simulators that range from low to high fidelity. During the scenario, the professor is able to video record the session, which allows for scenario review during the debriefing session, enhancing the educational experience. The simulation technology provides a learning environment where nursing students are safely challenged to practice at increasingly complex levels of clinical care before graduation.
The Honors College at Towson University provides unique and challenging opportunities for the most highly qualified and motivated students seeking intellectual and personal growth. The Honors College involves students and faculty from across the university in a community of scholars who together explore questions within and beyond their disciplines. The Honors College serves, therefore, as the center and symbol of the university's commitment to academic excellence in the education of its undergraduates.
The Hussman Center for Adults with Autism recently launched the Saturday on the Spectrum Lecture Series, which focuses on educating the community and increasing understanding about adult autism.
Faculty and students within the Department of Art + Design, Art History, Art Education team up with Word on the Street,the street newspaper for Baltimore City launched in Spring 2012. The independent newspaper provides opportunities for income, social support and advocacy, and is produced by homeless individuals and their allies. The course Graphic Design: Social Issues was instrumental in launching the newspaper, and continues to partner with Word on the Street to design and produce each issue of the paper.
The Moving to Learn: Grow Up Great with Dance and Science curriculum was designed by Towson University’s Department of Dance’s K-12 Education Program and Towson University Community Dance, using concepts that are part of the Maryland public school curricula. The program is offered twice a month to preschool groups at Port Discovery Children’s Museum, and by certified dance instructors and interns from Towson University’s dance education program. The instructors use dance and movement to help children investigate the Earth’s resources and to recognize cause and effect relationships. The program is sponsored by PNC Foundation, Inc.’s Growing Up Great Initiative and represents a collaboration by Towson University and The Port Discovery Children’s Museum on preschool STE(A)M education. For more information, contact Jaye Knutson at jknutson@towson.edu.
8000 York Road | Towson, MD 21252 | 410-704-2000
The Voice Writing Center for Radio Captioning has the potential to change the way that people with hearing loss access the radio and the technology could be expanded into other areas including 
