Helping shape the TU experience
TU’s inaugural director of assessment, evaluation and strategic planning brings a passion for improving student life on campus
By Kyle Hobstetter on October 26, 2022
Throughout her career, Elora Orazio has focused on improving the lives of college students. Now she’s bringing that passion to Towson University.
This past August, Orazio started as the inaugural director of assessment, evaluation and strategic planning in the Division of Student Affairs.
“I’ve only been here a few weeks, and it’s already exceptionally clear how much the student affairs staff cares about the success of the students at TU,” Orazio says. “There's momentum at Towson University to improve and expand upon the assessments that are happening to help strengthen the work of all areas.”
During the early part of her career, she looked at issues that can affect a college student’s education, serving on committees on mental health, violence and alcohol and drug use.
She was inspired by an experience she had in college. A group of friends was caught with an illegal substance. They were expelled, and none of them came back to higher education.
“I really felt there needed to be voices advocating for different types of student experiences on the inside, to help create safety nets for students who didn’t have that in their home life,” Orazio says.
“[Growing up in rural Massachusetts] I knew what it was like to come from that background, because my parents didn’t have that traditional college experience. So helping students [with] their college experience has always been important to me.
Orazio brought that passion to her own education. Last year she received a doctorate in community research and action from Binghamton University.
She’s ready to use the research and assessment skills she developed during her doctoral program to help not only the students but the university’s mission of supporting them.
While Orazio has been working in higher education since 2010, this will be her first position on a college campus that isn’t directly student facing.
She’ll miss the students, but Orazio’s excited her work can provide a better overall campus experience for more of the Towson University community.
Through this position, Orazio will be supporting the assessment efforts within each and every department across Student Affairs to strengthen the work that already exists in those spaces and to help develop evaluations for the work that's being done. She will also work on division wide initiatives, including helping with grant applications.
To help with these actions, Orazio has been putting herself where the students are. There are days when you can see her walking around campus and sitting in the University Union or in other student spaces, just so she can remind herself what it’s like being a college student.
“Those are all things I think are really important in staying grounded and connected to why I’m doing this work and why it matters,” Orazio says. “I am someone who wants to make sure that the work that we do is impactful, and that we can support students in the best possible ways.”