College Highlights

The College of Liberal Arts offers a vast array of educational opportunities for students, faculty, staff and the community. Here are some examples from this successful year.

Baltimore Writers’ Conference (2025)

The Baltimore Writers’ Conference returned to CLA in November 2025 featuring keynote speaker Sonia Shah. The conference included craft sessions on fiction, nonfiction, poetry, quick critiques and more.

Read More about the Writers’ Conference

BCAL Awarded Grant to Support Teachers

CLA’s Baltimore Community Archaeology Lab (BCAL) received a grant from the Baltimore County Commission on Arts and Sciences (BCCAS) to help fund the second workshop in the Trowels to Teaching program.

CLA AI for Humanity Challenge

CLA collaborated with Mind Over Machines to host a first-of-its-kind event where teams of students competed to address ethical and governance challenges posed by artificial intelligence.

CLA Student Scholarship and Inquiry Conference (CLASSIC)

CLA hosted the second annual Student Scholarship and Inquiry Conference which featured panel and poster presentations from 34 undergraduate CLA students, guided by Assistant Dean Alhena Gadotti.

Deaf Studies 25th Anniversary Symposium

The Deaf Studies major celebrated its 25th anniversary with a symposium led by Assistant Professor Matt Malzkuhn, which brought over 130 guests.

Democracy Today Book Event with Sami Sage

Author Sami Sage spoke about her book, Democracy in Retrograde: How to Make Changes Big and Small in Our Country and Our Lives, for the annual Democracy Today Book Event.

History Fellowship Established in Honor of Jenny Jochens

The Department of History developed a faculty research fellowship named in honor of Jenny Jochens, a prolific scholar, pioneering women’s historian and longtime CLA faculty member.

Osita Nwanevu, The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding

Author and journalist Osita Nwanevu spoke about his book, The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding, and facilitated an engaging discussion about the future of democracy.

Our CLA Community

CLA Dean's Office — The CLA Dean’s Office on Tiger Tuesday

World Wednesdays — Professor Diego Del Pozo preforms during World Wednesday Music Day

CLA Tailgate — CLA’s Family Weekend Football Tailgate

Events

Student Career Development

Psychology Undergraduate Research Fair
School Psychology Annual Internship Program Presentation
Counseling Psychology Internship Fair
Experimental Psychology Graduate Program Tabling Event
Internship Insights
Teaching English in France after Graduation
Comunidades Latinas y Salud: Career Opportunities and Networking
CLA Without Borders: Study Abroad and Away Showcase
Lunch with an Alum: Christina Bishop

Faculty Career Development

CLA OSPR College Event
CLA Digital Accessibility Workshop
PTR Workshop
AI and Learning: A Conversation Between Students and Faculty

Global Initiatives

A Summer of Mass Murder: 1941 Rehearsal for the Hungarian Holocaust with Dr. George Eisen
Comunidades Latinas y Salud. Language Justice and Health Care: Current Issues
Languages, Literatures and Cultures "World Wednesday" Series
Film Screenings: The Grave of the Fireflies (1988), Ich bin dein Mensch (2021), Democracy Noir (2024)
Pearlstone Professorship Program Guest Speaker Dr. Polly Zavadivker: Vigilante Violence: Popular and State Antisemitism in Russia's Great War
Eric A. Belgrad Speaker Series: Ben Zajiceek, Involuntary Commitment in Khrushchev's Soviet Union
Child L1 Acquisition & Language Change: Examples from the History of Spanish and Beyond
The Power of Black Youth: Black Youth Activism in the Past and Present
Threats to Independent Journalism: Perspectives from Latin America
Berman Center Event: Finding Meaning Through Art Making: The Art of the Holocaust
Entre Nosotros: Language Accessibility, Healthcare and AI
Survival Tips for the War on Women
Italian Soccer at Towson: A Meeting with Sara Gama
The Queen of Sheba History Lecture by Dr. Jillian Stinchcomb

Conversations with Authors

Berman Center Events with Author Nina Willner discussing her books, Forty Autumns and The Boys in the Light
Book Talk: Dr. Jennifer Barry
Book Talk: The Conspiracists with Noelle Cook (CLA alum)
Book Talk: What's Left: Three Paths Through the Planetary Crisis by Malcolm Harris
Conversation with Poet and Editor Asa Drake
English Department Reading Series with Award-Winning Writer Karen Russell
English Department Reading Series with Poet David Bergman
English Department Speaker and Q&A: Morgan LaRocca
English Department Speaker and Q&A: Katya Wiegmann
Thriller, Fantasy, Crime, Sci-Fi: Crime Readings and Discussion with Lauren Reding and Benjamin Warner

Dean’s Office Programming

CLA AI for Humanity Challenge
CLA Student Scholarship and Inquiry Conference (CLASSIC)
Democracy Today Annual Book Event ft. Sami Sage: Democracy in Retrograde: How to Make Changes Big and Small in Our County and in Our Lives
Osita Nwanevu, The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding
Sabbatical Showcase and Distinguished Faculty and Staff Awards

Reflections on America

Legacy in Focus: A Conversation About the Life and Work of Photographer I. Henry Phillips
African and African American Studies Black History Month Faculty Lecture: For Jobs and Freedom: Cleveland Robinson and the Role of Labor in the Black Freedom Struggle
Declaration at 250 Lecture Series: The American Revolution and the Fate of the World
Declaration at 250 Lecture Series: The Fall and Rise of the American Revolution
When the Cloud Comes to Town: How Data Centers Impact Communities
Community Solutions for Community Challenges: Baltimore's Black Solidarity Economy

Annual Events

Baltimore Immigration Summit
Hispanic Heritage Month Film Festival
Constitution Day in Towson
Psychology Good Deeds Day
Maryland Philosophy Conference
Badolato Speaker Series: Maryland's Security Challenges & Resilience
Badolato Speaker Series: Countering Drone Threats in the Homeland
The 5th Annual Human Rights in the Field Lecture
The 6th Annual Global Humanities Lecture: From Crisis to Community: International Non-Profit Work in Baltimore
The 7th Annual Human Rights and History Lecture: The Gaza Famine: International Laws, Politics, and History
Baltimore Writers' Conference
John Gissendanner Memorial Lecture: Maroon Methodology: Decolonizing Research with Possibility and Statistics
Ian Moore Memorial Lecture: Talk about Democracy and Partisanship
Grub Street Launch Party

Milestone Moments

Deaf Studies 25-Year Anniversary Symposium

In Memoriam

Malcolm Berman

Malcolm Berman, together with his wife, Sandra Berman, was deeply committed to the well-being of future generations and to ensuring that they understood the dangers of intolerance, antisemitism and bigotry. Through their extraordinary generosity, the College of Liberal Arts received its largest gift, making possible the creation of the Sandra R. Berman Center for Humanity, Tolerance and Holocaust Education. Mr. Berman’s vision, insights and guidance were instrumental in shaping the Center and served as a continual source of inspiration. He attended numerous Center programs. Through his entrepreneurial leadership and, together with Mrs. Berman, Mr. Berman left a lasting impact on education, healthcare, the arts and the broader Baltimore community.

Jenny Jochens

Jenny Jochens was a pioneering women’s historian. She joined the TU faculty in 1966 and served as a prominent professor of history and women's studies until her retirement in 1995. Specializing in Old Norse society, she provided foundational insights into gender and social structures in medieval Scandinavia. Through her dedicated teaching and rigorous scholarship, she left a lasting impact on her students, colleagues, and the broader academic community. Thanks to a generous gift from her son, Dr. Peter Baldwin, a new fellowship in her name was established to support faculty research in the Department of History and enrich student learning. She will be remembered with great respect and gratitude by all who knew her at TU.

Armin E. Mruck, Ph.D.

Armin E. Mruck was a long-serving professor of history who helped to build international education at Towson University, particularly the exchange with Oldenburg University. He also supported the university throughout his long retirement. His commitment to building bridges between groups of people who might not otherwise work together remained dear to him and will undoubtedly be his legacy. To honor his commitment to study abroad, a former student established an endowed fellowship in his name for CLA students participating in international education.