The U.S. News & World Report2013 America’s Best
Colleges guide ranks Towson University 10th in the public Regional
Universities (North) category, placing it among the best of the 46 institutions
surveyed.
The National Science Foundation and the Department of Homeland Security have certified Towson University as a CyberCorp® Scholarship for Service Community.
G.I. Jobs magazine has named Towson University as a Military
Friendly School® for 2013.
Washington Monthly ranked Towson
University 186 out of 682 U.S. public and private master's universities in its
2012 College Guide and Rankings. TU ranked highest among Maryland's seven public
master's universities.
Campus Pride’s LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index
awards Towson University four out of five stars in 2012 for its ongoing efforts
to produce a safer, more inclusive campus. It was one of 350 colleges and
universities rated using data from the Campus Pride Index.
College of Business and Economics
The College of Business and Economics is the largest undergraduate business school in the University System of Maryland, with approximately 3,200 students.
Towson University is the only University System of Maryland institution with AACSB International accreditation for both its business administration and accounting programs. AACSB is the premier accrediting agency for business administration and accounting degree programs, and the highest distinction that business schools can receive worldwide.
CBE offers international undergraduate programs in Vietnam and Panama.
Four faculty members in CBE’s Department of Finance hold the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.
CBE has hosted seven rounds of The Associate competition, TU’s rendition of The Apprentice. The competition provides students with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to show their business acumen while learning from successful business leaders of local, national and international companies. The “Donald Trump” for 2011’s competition was Ken DeFontes Jr., president and CEO of Baltimore Gas and Electric Company.
CBE students in the Towson University Investment Group manage a portfolio of more than $100,000 of real money for the Towson University Foundation.
CBE has partnered with The Baltimore Cash Campaign to offer free federal and Maryland state income tax preparation services to low-income individuals and families.
College of Education
The College of Education is the oldest and largest producer of teachers in the state of Maryland. Across the nation, more than 10,500 educators trained at Towson University are now at the head of the class.
The college has been nationally recognized for its network of more than 110 professional development schools, and received three additional national awards in 2008 reaffirming its excellence. In their year-long PDS experience, interns are immersed in real-world classrooms and are guided by mentor teachers and university supervisors. Evidence confirms that this approach contributes to an improved learning environment for students, and significantly improves teacher retention that saves needed public education dollars.
The Center for Leadership in Education offers practical workshops for school administrators, teachers and parent groups across the state. Its members serve as unpaid consultants and advisors to school leaders and system administrators.
The College of Education has assumed a leadership role in Towson’s metropolitan university outreach program with Baltimore’s Cherry Hill community. With the Cherry Hill elementary, middle and high schools as the springboards, Towson is responding to a wide range of community needs, from nutritional programs to financial planning.
Jess and Mildred Fisher College of Science and Mathematics
The Jess and MIldred Fisher College of Science and Mathematics annually receives $4-5 million in external grants and contracts to support pure and applied research and curriculum development. A significant number of these grants support research by undergraduates.
The Department of Chemistry offers the only B.S. program in forensic chemistry in Maryland. In addition, the B.S. and M.S. programs are the only accredited forensic programs in the state.
The Fisher College is renovating space for the Urban Environmental Biogeochemistry Laboratory using a National Science Foundation grant of $1,395,000.
Jennifer Scott, assistant professor of astronomy, received TU’s second-ever National Science Foundation CAREER Award. The 5-year, $637,143 grant is titled “Quasars, Galaxies and their Intergalactic Environs.”
The Fisher College operates the Towson University Center for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Excellence, a science and math outreach and education research unit located in the Columbus Center on Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
The Fisher College also operates the Towson University Field Station in northern Baltimore County to provide education, outreach and research opportunities for students, faculty and the public.
College of Fine Arts and Communication
The College of Fine Arts and Communication and the Department of Dance hosted the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in September 2011 for a one-week residency that will include master classes and a concert.
Art professor Bridget Sullivan, director of the online interactive media design program, teaches classes on TU’s virtual campus in Second Life. Her undergraduate and graduate students create avatars and attend meetings in Second Life to experience a 3-D simulated environment that includes voice, text, video, document sharing and other collaborative tools.
Film studies professor Peter Lev received the Academy Scholars Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The award provides research support for his book project, “Twentieth Century-Fox: The Zanuck-Skouras Years.”
TU senior Dayvon Love was named Top Speaker and Debater of the Year at the 2009 Cross Examination Debate Association National Championship. Love and his teammate Deven Cooper, both members of Towson’s Speech and Debate Team, made history at the CEDA National Championship as the first African-American team to take first place at the competition.
The TU Marching Band performed in the 2009 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for an audience of 2.5 million street viewers and another 44 million television viewers.
Tony Award-winning costume designer Judy Dolan and award-winning actors Roc Dutton and John Glover are all TU graduates.
TU offers community arts programs in art, music, theatre and dance.
Under the leadership of psychology faculty member Ellyn Sheffield, the College of Liberal Arts works in partnership with NPR Labs to provide more accessible radio for people who are hearing impaired or deaf and blind. This includes the development of captioned radio as well as contributions to the design and functionality of radio equipment.
Anthropology faculty members Matthew Durington and Samuel Collins lead a project funded by the National Science Foundation, "Anthropology by the Wire." Twelve community college students are working with Towson undergraduate learning assistants during the first phase to engage research opportunities, civic engagement projects, and their own developing critical consciousness. The project both creates alternative urban depictions of Baltimore and its residents from those depicted in the show The Wire and conducts research driven by visual anthropology and digital media.
The College of Liberal Arts offers an annual International Film Festival each spring, concentrating on a different continent or region each year. The 2011 festival emphasized films made in or about Africa, with two of the film directors speaking to accompany the showing of their films.
The Martha A. Mitten Professorship supports a faculty member in developing a program of special significance over a three-year span. The 2010-2011 year saw the culmination of a program led by Professor Stephen Phillips of the Department of History addressing the emergence of China as a world power. The year’s events included talks on several aspects of China’s development and identity by nationally prominent scholars.
Through the integration of the former Baltimore Hebrew University into Towson University, the College of Liberal Arts now hosts graduate programs in Jewish Studies and Jewish Community Service, as well as the Baltimore Hebrew Institute. The college also offers the only undergraduate religious studies major in the USM system, which includes study of Christian, Islamic, Jewish, Buddhist, and Hindu beliefs, ideas, and practices.
The Department of Geography and Environmental Planning hosts the annual TUgis conference, a regional gathering of GIS professionals and students for workshops, discussions, and a map competition with high school, college, and professional divisions. The 2012 conference will be the 25th under the leadership of professor John Morgan.
Towson University is one of only three universities in Maryland (including Johns Hopkins and Salisbury State) certified by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) to offer foreign language education programs in French, German and Spanish for secondary education teacher candidates.
College of Health Professions
The College of Health Professions enrolls more bachelor’s and master’s health care and sport-related students than any other institution in Maryland.
The Department of Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science has the state’s only combined B.S./M.S. program in Occupational Therapy.
The Department of Nursing is Maryland’s second-largest nursing program.
The Department of Kinesiology is the largest producer of teachers in physical education and sport-related programs.
The Department of Health Science has the only program in Health Care Management certified by the Association of University Programs in Health Administration.
The Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Program is one of only two state-supported programs and the only program to provide the opportunity for students to do a clinical practicum experience in the on-campus clinic.
Honors College
More than 240 students joined the Honors College in fall 2011. New first-year students will attend a two-day Honors College Orientation on August 4 and 5, where they’ll meet faculty and staff and discuss the One Maryland, One Book selection, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.
The Honors College received a National Collegiate Honors Council Portz Grant in 2010 to support the development of a community garden on campus. Produce from the garden is organically grown and sustainably harvested, and is donated to area homeless shelters.
Jeffry Bothe, a 2011 Honors College graduate, was the only undergraduate from a four-year institution in Maryland selected to receive the Regina Lightfoot Student Service Award. Jeffry was recognized for his efforts in establishing the TU Veggie Garden and for his numerous community service projects.
Several Honors College students presented their research at professional conferences in 2010-2011, including the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference, the Colonial Academic Alliance Conference, the National Conference for Undergraduate Research, and many others.
Campus-Wide
On August 1, 2010,
Towson University became the first four-year institution in Maryland to go completely smoke-free.
Towson University was named in Princeton Review’s Guide to 311 Green Colleges in 2011. Out of more than 4,000 colleges and universities nationwide, the guide identified Towson as an institution that demonstrates an exemplary commitment to sustainability.
More than 5 percent of the total electricity used at Towson University comes from renewable resources. Ten percent of Towson University’s solid waste is incinerated and used to produce electricity for use on campus.
Towson University has committed to achieve LEED Silver certification on all new campus buildings. The first building to achieve certification is the College for Liberal Arts, which features a “green” or planted roof, low flush toilets, and a high-performance HVAC system with automated central controls. It will also have recycling areas as well as bike racks and shower and locker facilities to promote students and faculty members walking and biking to work.
The "smart growth" strategy within the campus master plan aims to preserve and recreate natural, green areas of campus. While implementing the plan, the university plans to convert over 5 acres of paved campus area to open green space, helping to offset the campus's carbon footprint.
The Towson University Police Department has received the Governor’s Award for Crime Prevention for 26 consecutive years, more than any other higher education institution in the state.
Athletics
Now in its 33rd year of NCAA Division I competition, the Tiger intercollegiate athletics program sponsors 20 sports. Tiger athletic teams compete in the Colonial Athletic Association, the nation's top mid-major conference.
A new 5,000-seat, state-of-the-art, high-tech Tiger Arena is scheduled to open in May 2013. Currently under construction, the arena will be home to our basketball, gymnastics and volleyball teams.
Since joining the CAA in 2001, the Tigers have won league titles in football, men’s and women’s lacrosse, women’s swimming, men’s soccer and men’s golf.
During an athletics history that traces its roots to the 1920s, Towson has sent teams and individual student-athletes to NCAA post-season competition in baseball, basketball, football, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, track and field, and volleyball.
Tiger student-athletes distinguish themselves in the classroom as well as on the field of competition. Twelve Tigers have been named CAA Scholar-Athlete Award winners for their respective sports.
Towson has been ranked among U.S. News & World Report's America's Best
Colleges every year since the guide's inception in 1985.
8000 York Road | Towson, MD 21252 | 410-704-2000
