Diversity Committees

OIIE values shared governance to advance and implement diversity initiatives and institutional priorities for inclusive excellence. 

Accessibility Advisory Committee

The purpose of the Accessibility Advisory Committee is to help create an inclusive, welcoming campus environment that meets the needs of students, faculty, staff and visitors with disabilities at TU. To learn more contact .

The Key Goals Are:

  • Assess the campus environment and climate for accessibility that provides equal opportunity for participation in Towson University programs, services and events;
  • Serve as an advisory board regarding recommendations and resources for meeting the needs of persons with disabilities at Towson University;
  • Ensure key administrators remain informed of emerging disability issues on campus that may warrant policy changes;
  • Foster collaboration across divisions/departments/units to promote an inclusive, welcoming climate and achieve appropriate accessibility;
  • Promote educational programs and training to increase disability awareness and understanding of disability-related issues.
Member office
Katherine Peters, Chair Office of Inclusion and Institutional Equity
Patricia Bradley Office of Inclusion and Institutional Equity
Joshua Hayes Office of Inclusion and Institutional Equity
Robyn McCray Accessibility and Disability Services
Bryan Mull, Sr. Legal Affairs and General Counsel
Nathan Barker Office of Human Resources
Donna Yeagle Office of Human Resources
Barbara Menges Office of Human Resources
Pamela Mooney Parking and Transportation Services
Gerald Jerome College of Health Professions
Karen Eskow College of Liberal Arts
Briella Chen College of Education
David Mayhew Facilities Management
Jennifer Wicklein Office of Technology Services
Matt Wynd Office of Technology Services
Brian Williams Office of Technology Services
Brittny Ballard Cook Library
Erika Carlson-Hiles Enrollment Services
Charles Herring Public Safety
Scott Beyer Event and Conference Services
Teresa Valais Office of the Provost

Collaborative Teams

As part of the Accessibility Advisory Committee, the Digital Accessibility Subcommittee will work on digital accessibility issues.

The charge is to consider digital accessibility tasks and challenges including:

  • forming recommendations for the President’s Cabinet on digital accessibility topics affecting the majority of campus
  • drafting policies regarding digital accessibility
  • confirming updates to the TU Accessibility Strategic Plan prior to publishing to the university website
  • participating in high level planning for digital accessibility standards expressed by the University System of Maryland
  • participate in information gathering and response to any university level official digital accessibility complaints

Formed to support Accessibility | Albert S. Cook Library (towson.edu) to further the University’s culture of accessibility through tasks and challenges.

  • Creating and maintaining accessible web content to implement web accessibility best practices where they select, administer, or contribute content to the library's web presence.  This includes content published on the library website, the consideration of web accessibility when purchasing electronic resources, and the production of documents shared internally (between library employees), to the best of our ability.
  • Prioritize work to achieve the greatest impact relative to the effort of its staff. To focus these efforts, the library will revise workflows that will inform future decisions and work. It will prioritize current and future content, over content created in the past, as well as resources, platforms, and services that are critical to student success.
  • Maintain and enhance physical and academic accessibility at and around the Library through the use of a report form,  report an accessibility barrier.

Council of Diverse Student Organizations

The Council of Diverse Student Organizations was established to promote a stronger sense of shared community. They will inform the university administration of the needs of under-represented groups, including identification of the challenges such groups encounter. The council will advise regarding the kinds of programming and services necessary to enhance the intellectual and social life of under-represented students.

The group is comprised of (but not restricted to) students from diverse affinity groups and organizations.

The Key Goals Are:

  • Encourage collaboration and communication between multicultural student organizations
  • Enhance the leadership experience for students
  • Coordinate and encourage inter-group planning
  • Support and promote unity among all students on campus and
    Address the needs of under-represented groups.

Diversity Action Committee

The Diversity Action Committee is composed of a cross section of members of the academic and administrative divisions of the university and representatives of the student body. The committee exists to support the institution's Strategic Diversity Goals and makes appropriate recommendations for the success of campus-wide diversity initiatives to the University Diversity Council. 

The Key Goals Are:

  • Identify barriers that may hinder diversity initiatives.
    Support diversity throughout the curriculum and in campus events and activities.
  • Commit to recognizing, appreciating, and celebrating the individual and collective achievements of TU's diverse faculty, staff, and student body. 
  • Facilitate and promote ongoing opportunities for public discourse relating to diversity. 
  • Support the implementation of university-wide initiatives in support of TU's Strategic Diversity Goals.
  • Collect, assess, and disseminate data on campus climate and attitudes toward diversity.
  • Coordinate institutional efforts to address diversity and inclusion.

Work Groups

The Campus Climate work group of the institutional Diversity Action Committee will support the establishment and maintenance of a campus climate that is welcoming and inclusive by:

  • Reviewing existing data sets related to campus climate and making recommendations of future climate study needs.
  • Developing a multicultural conference for faculty and staff.
  • Developing and implementing programming for cultural competency across the campus.

The Education and Scholarship Work Group of the institutional Diversity Action Committee has a mission to:

  • Increase diversity and inclusiveness across the curriculum, in individual courses, and in extra- and co-curricular settings. 
  • Encourage diversity and inclusiveness in faculty teaching, scholarship/creative activity, and service, and the involvement of undergraduate and graduate students

In order to accomplish these goals, it is necessary to encourage and support increased diversity and inclusiveness in the composition of the students, faculty, staff, and administrators of colleges and departments, with particular attention to underrepresented racial minorities. The committee will fulfill its mission by:

  • Review and recognize evidence of each college’s and unit’s diversity and inclusiveness efforts through mission and/or vision statements, how each department/program addresses diversity and inclusiveness through its curriculum, and how faculty address diversity and inclusiveness in individual courses as well as within their scholarship, creative activity, and service. These materials will be reviewed by the Office of the Provost and the Office of Inclusion and Institutional Equity. 
  • Review and recognize what specifically is being done by academic units and individual faculty to increase the enrollment, involvement, and graduation of students from underrepresented groups.
  • Review, recognize, and share, as appropriate, the strategies and programs currently employed by colleges and departments to support diversity and inclusiveness and support the assessment of programs.
  • Coordinate with the Office of the Provost to review current best practices in faculty recruitment and retention. 
  • Promote faculty involvement in TU's annual Multicultural Conference.

The Representation work group of the institutional Diversity Action Committee will support the university’s ability to seek and maintain fully represented populations within the student body, and faculty and staff bodies by:

  • Supporting implementation of new and existing outreach efforts to increase representation of underrepresented groups of students, faculty, and staff.
  • Promoting access, retention, and success of students, faculty, and staff from underrepresented groups.

The Hate/Bias Work Group provides a coordinated multi-disciplinary university response to hate crimes and/or bias incidents by:

  • Meeting on a periodic basis to review reported instances of hate crimes and/or bias incidents;
  • Identifying any patterns, trends, or upsurges in hate crime and/or bias incident activity;
  • Advising TU's University Diversity Council of such patterns and making recommendations related to action-oriented steps to address identified patterns; and
  • Supporting the implementation of university-wide initiatives to curtail hate crimes and bias incidents.

Religious Staff Coordinating Council

A variety of faith communities are represented on campus through support staff assigned to the university. Our campus ministers advise religious student organizations as well as provide personal ministry in counseling, theological discussions, and support students in other areas. In addition, several campus ministers lead discussions on contemporary issues and sponsor guest speakers or social events.

Campus Ministries is supported by the Center for Student Diversity and made up of two types of membership: The Religious Staff Coordinating Council (RSCC) and Interfaith Campus Ministry Association (ICMA).

NAME ORGANIZATION / TITLE CONTACT
Agape Campus Christian Fellowship, Secretaries 443-415-6573
Lutheran / Episcopal Campus Ministry, President 443-543-6965
Mike McQuitty Baptist 315-569-2630
Campus Crusade for Christ 410-409-4849
Campus International Christian Fellowship  
Father Matt Buening Catholic Campus Minister, Newman Center 410-828-0622
Rabbi Mendy Rivkin Chabad House 410-825-0779
Mary Jane Johnston Christian Science Church 410-925-8810
Stephen Oguagha Disciples on Campus 516-543-9529
Rabbi Alexander Salzberg Hillel 410-704-4671
Efy Flamm Jewish Collegiate Network 443-690-5073

Student Advisory Committee

The Student Advisory Committee consists of students from each college who have been selected to serve as the voice of a diverse undergraduate and graduate student population and as a liaison between students and the Office of Inclusion & Institutional Equity.

The key goals are:

  • To facilitate communication and relationships between students, faculty, staff and administrators.
  • To participate in focused event planning and workshops. 
  • To foster increased awareness and visibility of the Office of Inclusion & Institutional Equity.
  • To be actively engaged in improving the Office of Inclusion & Institutional Equity and TU student spirit as a collective whole.

University Diversity Council

The University Diversity Council facilitates the establishment and maintenance of a diverse, inclusive and equitable campus environment. 

The Key Goals Are:

  • Setting Priorities for resource allocation to address issues, concerns, and/or problems that may negatively impact the campus climate;
  • Conducting periodic climate assessment, including problem-solving based on results of survey data;
  • Providing Structure for the development and implementation of an institutional action plan consisting of measurable short and long-term goals;
  • Monitoring Outcomes to track the development and maintenance of college-level, department-level, and unit-level goals to support the institutional action plan;
  • Determining Expectations to provide clear guidelines and feedback to colleges, departments, and units; and
  • Working closely with the Diversity Action Committee in cross-campus collaboration to review/approve goals that facilitate and advance diversity and inclusion.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Patricia Bradley, Chair Office of Inclusion and Institutional Equity
Sara Arnold-Garza Cook Library
LaVern Chapman Office of Inclusion and Institutional Equity
Vernon Hurte Student Affairs
Steve Jones Office of Human Resources
Ben Lowenthal Administration and Finance
Gilda Martinez-Alba College of Education
Jordan Colquitt SGA President
Mark R. Ginsberg Office of the President
Matthew Reinhart General Counsel and Legal Affairs
Cynthia Cooper Office of the Provost
Sean Welsh University Marketing and Communications

Work Groups

The University Diversity & Inclusion Awards recognize individuals and departments that have made efforts to foster greater awareness, understanding and advancement of diversity and inclusiveness at Towson University.

The Key Goals Are:

  • Developing tools for marketing the University Diversity & Inclusion Awards Program;
  • Ensuring that marketing tools are posted and/or distributed across campus;
  • Collaborating campus-wide to secure nominations for six award categories (student, faculty-general, faculty-research, staff, academic and administrative department); and
  • Overseeing the review of nominations and selection process.