TU in the News 2007 Archive
From the beast's belly
The Sun, December 2
Michael Hill spoke to Martha Kumar, Department of Political Science, about her new book,
Managing the President's Message: The White House Communications Operation, published by Johns Hopkins University Press. The book deals with the way in which the modern White House seeks to manage the messages that they want to send to their various constituencies.
Existing home sales hit record low
The Baltimore Examiner, November 29
Reporter Aaron Cahill consulted Matt Chambers, Department of Economics, about October data released by the National Association of Realtors that showed a sharp decline nationally in existing home sales. Chambers said he doesn't see a complete market crash in the making, but added, "I don't really see anything that's going to cause this to turn around real quick."
Cause for optimism in Cherry Hill
The Sun, November 23
Reporter Sumathi Reddy wrote that Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld attributed Cherry Hill's 50 pecent drop in homicides and 75 percent drop in nonfatal shootings since last year to smart policing, more evictions by the city's Housing Authority, greater community engagement and the presence of Towson University in both the schools and community
The Sweet Potato Is Everybody's Friend, But a Fleeting One
Wall Street Journal , November 21
Staff reporter Robert Tomsho spoke with Jack Osman, Department of Health Science, for a pre-Thanksgiving page one feature on sweet-potato sales and consumption patterns. The sweet potato is high in fiber and vitamins A and C, but "its image hasn't yet made the changeover from the poor man's food to the intelligent food of choice," said Osman. Tomsho says Osman has had little luck interesting food companies in his purple passion pie and other sweet-potato creations.
Study Finds Higher Costs for Caregivers of Elderly
New York Times, November 19
Jane Gross reported on the nation's first in-depth study of out-of-pocket spending among the estimated 34 million Americans providing care for older family members or friends. Donna Wagner, Department of Health Science, analyzed the data for the new report, which finds the out-of-pocket cost of care averages about $5,500 a year, a sum more than double previous estimates. The report builds upon a 2004 study on which Wagner served as an adviser.
Nursing students get a lesson in compassion
The Sun, November 17
Metro news reporter Lynn Anderson spoke with Mary Lashley, Department of Nursing, and students in her Community Health Nursing courses at a health fair they hosted at the Helping Up Mission. TU students have been working with mission residents since 2003. "What I see happening is that the students' stereotypes of what an addict is [are] shattered," said Lashley. "They really get to know the guys and [see] that they are just like any one of us."
$1.5 million to fund scholarships
The Sun, October 17
The newspaper's Baltimore County Digest reported that TU had received $1.5 million from the estates of two benefactors to fund scholarships for education students. The estate of Louise Lippy McMahan '27 increased the scholarship endowment in her name, and Arthur D. Smith bequeathed a donation to honor his wife of 40 years, Helen Hornig, who died in 2002.
Towson interns teach, learn
The Sun, October 1
Gina Davis interviewed principal Gerry DePetris (a TU alumna), TU student-teacher Christine Coppage and Ocie Watson-Thompson, Department of Early Childhood Education, for a story about the county's newest early childhood education center at Hawthorne Elementary School. "It's no longer simulation teaching," said Watson-Thompson. "They're actually in there teaching."
Deterring underage drinkers
The Sun, September 18
Josh Mitchell consulted several sources in a story pegged to Baltimore County's efforts to have bars and liquor stores install electronic scanners that can spot fake or doctored driver's licenses used by underage drinkers. Jana Varwig, TU associate vice president for Student Affairs, told him that increased citations for alcohol use or possession on campus are attributable to a larger student population, more freshman living on campus and stepped-up enforcement.
It's a tough job, and Tony Snow opts to let someone else do it
The Christian Science Monitor, September 17
Linda Feldmann spoke to Martha Joynt Kumar, Department of Political Science, about White House Press Secretary Tony Snow's decision to step down after 16 months. Kumar explained that the Bush press operation isn't losing significance as his presidency winds down. "It's an important job right down to the end," she said. "People may be focused on who's next, but the reality is that it's the incumbent who's making the decisions."
An emerging strategy
The Daily Record, September 10
Andy Rosen asked Babu Baradwai, Department of Finance, for his thoughts on T. Rowe Price Group Inc.'s new Africa & Middle East Fund. Baradwai said a mutual fund, which has the benefit of its management's knowledge of the region, could be a good way to get into the untapped markets of the Middle East and Africa. He noted that the areas still carry a high degree of risk, but a fund might be less risky than an individual investment
Breaux shines in debut
The Sun, Aug. 31
Reporter Ken Murray chronicled the debut of Tommy Breaux, a 6-foot-9 center for the Tiger basketball team, as a wide receiver on the Tiger football team. Breaux, who came to TU last year from Blinn (Texas) Junior College, made seven catches for 109 yards, helping the Tigers cash in a 20-10 season-opener victory over Central Connecticut.
Groundbreaking set for TU's liberal arts complex
Towson Times , August 29
Reporter Loni Ingraham spoke with university spokeswoman Carol Vellucci and with David Mayhew, director of architecture, engineering and construction, regarding the September 12 groundbreaking for the 250,000-square-foot College of Liberal Arts Complex. Mayhew said the complex will influence the design of future academic buildings on campus.
Home slump hitting coffers
The Sun, August 27
Daraius Irani, director of RESI, told reporter Larry Carson that he predicts continuing problems for the housing market will result in reduced tax revenues for local governments. Hampered by tightening mortgage credit, the home market "is likely to limp along for the next year and a half, which obviously will wreak havoc with the real estate taxes," Irani said.
Finding Their Voices
Washington Post Magazine, August 26
Reporter Karen Houppert profiled incoming freshman Ignacio "Iggy" Evans in her cover story on the Baltmore Urban Debate League (BUDL). At BUDL's award ceremony in April, Darren Goins, TU director of forensics, and Chris Baron, Department of Mass Communication and Communication Studies, announced that TU awarded Evans a full, four-year debate scholarship, covering tuition and fees.
An ebbing of coverage with '08 on the horizon
The New York Times, July 11
Martha Joynt Kumar, Department of Political Science, told reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg that the White House communications team has gotten creative as it competes for news coverage against the 2008 presidential campaign and other attractions. "They have to dig a little bit deeper into their toolkit at this point in the presidency to get the front-page coverage," Kumar said.
Experts explain why church steeples are more likely to be struck by lightning
WJZ-TV, July 11
Regarding the recent five-alarm church fire in West Baltimore started by a lightning bolt, Dave Schaefer, Department of Physics, explained to reporter Alex DeMetrick that the very shape of a church steeple makes it an ideal impact point for lightning. “A pointed object will break down the air molecules and provide a conducting pathway much easier than a tree that’s big and round,” Schaefer said.
Presidential Notes
The American Association of State Colleges and Universities
AASCU reports that TU president Robert L. Caret has been appointed to the Commission to Develop the Maryland Model for Funding Higher Education to address tuition affordability and accessibility in the state. President Caret has also been appointed to the Division I NCAA Oversight and Monitoring Group (OMG).
State Board OKs Towson school takeover
Baltimore Examiner, June 1
Towson University has received the approval necessary to manage three Baltimore City schools in a unanimous vote by the Maryland school board. Jeff Grotsky, senior researcher with TU's College of Education, spoke with Examiner reporter Megan McIlroy about the decision. "Our intent is to reinvent these schools," said Grotsky. "We are trying to create a culture that says 'whatever it takes for the students to achieve, we'll do.' " The three schools, which have been required to restructure due to years of sub-standard state test scores, will be ready for the coming fall.
Baltimore region unplugging Internet
Baltimore Examiner, May 30
Towson University and the Baltimore County government have begun providing free wireless Internet access to the uptown Towson area. TU is donating the internet connection, while Baltimore County has supplied the infrastructure, for five Wi-Fi "hot spots" in Towson. "The campus went wireless two years ago and we immediately started talks to extend into downtown," TU President Robert Caret explained to Examiner reporter Jaime Malarkey. "You can be out not only walking, talking, just thinking or dining, but also surfing the Web."
Secrets of success: energy, young mental state
The Sun, May 13
In an informal question-and-answer session, President Robert L. Caret told Sloane Browne that he lives “a young life” that includes five to six days of exercise per week. He described himself as a decision-maker, like 90 percent of executives, but said he liked to have some other personality profiles—a couple of data people and a couple of feeling people—around him.
Towson University Considers Smoke-Free Campus
WJZ-TV, May 8
Reporter Gigi Barnett spoke to Donna Cox, director, Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Abuse Prevention Center, about TU’s decision to consider becoming a smoke-free campus. “It’s easy to say 40 campuses nationwide do it,” said Cox, a member of the committee researching the ban. “They could be small institutions. We’re a very big campus. It’s a big issue to address.”
Taxes hang over winnings
The Sun, May 8
With the Preakness just around the corner, Seth Hammer, Department of Accounting, offered tax advice on a silver lining for unlucky gamblers: offset winnings with losses over the course of a year. Hammer said the only way to deduct gambling losses is to itemize. “If they don’t itemize, they are stuck,” he added.
Region avoids housing slump
The Sun, May 4
Reporter Lorraine Mirabella covered a housing outlook conference where experts said Maryland’s well balanced regional economy was helping to keep area home prices stable. However, Daraius Irani, RESI, said job growth is not as strong as in past years. He attributed the anemic growth and low unemployment to a lack of qualified candidates in high-skill areas.
No question, college students met test to sell ideas
Arbutus Times, May 3
Lauren Taylor reported on the outcome of the Greater Baltimore Technology Council’s annual Mosh Pit competition, which drew 136 ideas from mostly undergraduate entrepreneurs. The TU team took sixth-place honors for AllowanceOnline, which would allow parents to create and put money into accounts that their minor children could use for online purchases.
Towson to start 2 new dorms
The Sun, May 1
As officials prepared to break ground for a pair of residence halls, reporter Laura Barnhardt spoke to Jack Nye II, director of Facilities Planning, about TU’s West Village project. Plans call for 10 housing buildings to be built eventually, said Nye, with about 3,000 students living in the village by 2016. WJZ-TV (Channel 13) also reported the groundbreaking on May 1.
Pursuing lifelong dreams
The Washington Times, April 23
Reporter Shelley Widhalm spoke to Jan Sinnott, Department of Psychology, for her story about men and women who continue to work, volunteer or take classes in their retirement years. Sinnott said retirees who choose to return to work may not be able to afford to retire, or they want to keep active or pursue another interest through working or taking classes. "Thinking gets more complex as they get older, she said. "They see things from more perspectives."
Colleges bound by privacy law, medical ethics
The Sun, April 19
Reporters Gadi Dechter and Frank D. Roylance investigated the limits privacy laws and medical ethics impose on universities in their dealings with mentally ill students. They noted that apart from extreme cases, college mental health professionals are usually reluctant to be seen as an extention of a university's administration or law enforcement. James Spivack, Counseling Center, said TU's center "works very hard to protect its neutrality on campus."
2007 session issues
The Sun, April 10
A roundup of bills passed by the Maryland General Assmbly noted that one that would have allowed Morgan State University to challenge a state decision allowing Towson University's competing MBA program died April 9 amid differences between the House and Senate versions. The Senate version would have allowed MSU to fight that decision in state court; the House version authorized only mediation and binding arbitration.
Learning From Real Kids
U.S. News & World Report, April 9
Elizabeth Weiss Green spoke to Karen Schaefer, College of Education, about the college’s Professional Development School (PDS) Network. Green noted that strong teacher-education programs share a common trait: they incorporate ideas of the PDS model. Schafer said the PDS experience enables TU’s student-teachers to be “totally immersed in the culture of a school.”
The story included a photo of TU student-teacher Ho Chang with his PDS mentor.
Towson University Wins National Dance Championship
WJZ-TV, April 6
The 27-member dance team, coached by Tom Cascella, Department of Theatre Arts, won the 2007 National Dance Alliance Collegiate Championship, Division I title, and the National Grand Championship. The competition, which took place in Daytona Beach, Fla., attracted dance teams from Japan, Canada and 78 U.S. colleges. Cascella said of the group, "Their spirit and cooperation makes them champions no matter what.”
Tom Moore: Allow Towson MBA Program
Baltimore Examiner, March 27
Moore, who hosts a show on WCBM-AM, argued that the UB/Towson MBA program should continue in spite of efforts led by Morgan State University to dismantle it. Moore cited MSU President Earl Richardson's claims of unnecessary duplication and lack of demand, then quoted TU President Robert Caret as saying that Richardson "has had 30 years to get his program to work; it has been a failure, and now he wants to oppose ours."
Full Article
Singing the blues?
The Diamondback, March 26
Stephen Yasko, WTMD-FM, discussed the future of student-operated campus radio stations with reporter Owen Praskievicz. "The romantic notion of college radio is an antiquated dream that needs to be brought up to date," Yasko said. "The very model that everyone plays what they want to play is unreliable. That's not something attractive for people to listen to." WMUC-FM, which is based at UMCP, is the last station of its kind in the Washington, D.C., area.
Full Article
Jazz gets a lighter touch
The Sun, March 25
Pop music critic Rashod D. Ollison spoke to Jim McFalls, Department of Music, who is promoting a new kind of trombone. McFalls, a jazz trombonist for 27 years, partnered with a French company to produce the instrument, with modifications culled from his own expertise. McFalls showed off the prototype—about which he was said to be "ecstatic"—in a TU faculty recital. The modified instrument will be marketed to musicians this summer in North America.
Full Article
Word Choices
The Sun, March 11
Patricia Alt, Department of Health Sciences, told biotechnology reporter Tricia Bishop that Maryland lawmakers cleverly and deliberately replaced the words "human embryo" with "certain material" to get the 2006 Stem Cell Research Act passed. Bishop wrote that Alt has published an article on the evolution of Maryland's stem cell legislation.
Cuban dancer's verve brings 'joyfulness' to Towson U.
Baltimore Messenger, March 7
Lauren Taylor reported that members of Omo Ache, a Cuban music and dance company based in San Diego, spent the week of February 19 teaching TU students and choreographing a piece for the university's dance company to perform in May. The idea for a Cuban residency came two years ago to TU dance company director Catherine Horta-Hayden, Department of Dance, who said she "was committed to bringing a piece of my culture, my roots, here."
The Marc Steiner Show
WYPR-FM, Feburary 14
Dr. Daraius Irani, economist with TU's Regional Economic Studies Insitute, recently appeared on WYPR's Marc Steiner Show to dicuss the impact of convention centers on the economic growth of downtown Baltimore. Irani pointed out that from 1993 to 2003, U.S. convention-center space increased by 50 percent while bookings declined. While acknowledging that Baltimore is a wonderful convention destination, he told Steiner that the city is now "competing with New York, Houston, Dallas, Orlando, Oklahoma City and Raleigh, N.C."
Listen here (Opens in Windows Media Player)
Mentors can help steer a career
The Sun, February 12
For her "On the Job" column, Hanah Cho spoke with Laleh Malek, director of professional experience in the College of Business and Economics, about how mentors can direct one's career in the right path. "No matter how old you are, and how successful you are, everyone could use a mentor," said Malek. "Everyone has a story about this person who had an impact on my life," she adds. "That's what mentorship is about."
Towson's new tiger built to last
The Sun, February 9
Julie Scharper reported on the unveiling of TU's new bronze tiger statue, one designed to be more indestructible than its predecessor. "The vendor told us that it will last forever," said Lori Armstrong, vice president of alumni affairs. President Robert L. Caret said he thought the tiger statue would deepen TU's history and traditions, adding: "It's fierce, it's ferocious and it's strong." Scharper's report was picked up and distributed by United Press International.
Where are the college guys?
St. Petersburg Times, February 4
Reporter Jose Cardenas spoke to Deborah Leather, Academic Affairs, about the so-called gender gap at U.S. colleges and universities, where women students now outnumber men on many campuses. “It’s a major issue for this country,” Leather said. “We could have a very different society in a generation or two.” Cardenas also noted a trial admissions program which has had the incidental effect of increasing the number of male students accepted at TU.
Poll: Bush Sinks to New Low in Md. Popularity
Capital News Service, February 1
A poll conducted January 22 through 28 by Gonzales Research and Marketing Strategies revealed, among other things, that 39 percent of Maryland's Republicans disapprove of the job President Bush is doing. Those numbers may not indicate all that much, according to James C. Roberts, Department of Political Science. "It’s not uncommon for poll numbers to drop in the second term," Roberts told reporter Esther Nguonly. "People look to the future."
General Assembly Considers Ground Rents Ban
WYPR-FM, January 31
Joel McCord interviewed Benjamin Neil, Department of Accounting, in connection with a bill introduced to ban ground rents in Maryland. Neil, who owns a title company in East Baltimore, said ground rents are concentrated in poorer neighborhoods and most affect those who can least afford to pay them. "The individuals don't have the financial wherewithal to redeem these ground rents or at least stay on top of them when they get the notices," he said.
No plans to slow down
The Sun, January 28
Cassandra Fortin examined Harford Community College's plans as it enters its 50th year. James LaCalle, HCC's president, said expanding HCC's link with TU is a priority. William Reuling, assistant to Provost James Brennan, said that in addition to offering upper-level TU courses at HCC, the two schools want to ease transfer of credits and implement a full degree program.
Kids' center on the move
The Sun, January 27
Cassandra Fortin reported on TU's Student Day Care Center move to much larger quarters. Harriet Douthirt, center director, told Fortin that the new building will allow the operation to expand and meet growing demand. "The plan is to add to the program each year, and in our new facility we will be able to do that," she said.
Michael E. Hickey
The Sun, January 27
Metro columnist Jacques Kelly profiled Michael Hickey, director of TU's Center for Leadership in Education and Naomi Price Hentz Distinguished Professor of Education. Kelly said Hickey is a fan of the federal No Child Left Behind legislation and his goal is to help teachers "understand how teaching and learning have to change under this standards-driven approach."
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