From the desk of Felicity Knox ’94, assistant university archivist librarian.
In our photographs collection, there is a picture of dormitory spaces in what was then called the Administration Building and what we now know as Stephens Hall.
Perhaps it is this photo that has led some to think that dormitory spaces in that building were part of its original design; however, this was a unique and short-lived situation.
In 1924, the Baltimore Teachers’ Training School, a school also focused on training teachers, shut its doors, and their students were invited to continue their education at the Maryland State Normal School (MSNS)—Towson University’s first incarnation. Because of this, enrollment at MSNS skyrocketed, and to accommodate the newly enrolled students, living spaces were created in the Administration Building. This building held every other facet of MSNS life, including a library, elementary school, auditorium, all administrative offices, all classrooms and a small cafeteria. Creating space for students to reside in the building must have been a challenge, but it was temporary. At that time, the academic program was a short two years. Likely within a year, these living spaces would have become unnecessary.
This past fall, Elaine Mael, Jewish Studies librarian and Ashley Todd-Diaz, Ph.D., director of distinctive collections and digital scholarship, conducted an oral history with Froma Willen, former coordinator of the Baltimore Jewish Council’s Holocaust Survivor Testimonies Project. In her five years as coordinator, from 1989 to 1994, Willen arranged 142 testimonies conducted with Holocaust survivors in the Baltimore area. In her oral history, Willen describes her experience and the work undertaken to make those testimonies available through a collaboration with Baltimore Hebrew University and the Yale Archives.
1915
May Day—Starting sometime after the move to Towson’s campus in 1915, the school started an annual spring festival tradition. Students from the teachers training school and the elementary school would dance about tall maypoles erected on the field by York Road, a queen and court would be named and the school celebrated the coming warmer months as a community.
1974
Springfest—In 1974, the resident students sponsored a new festival they called “Springfest.” This was a weeklong celebration that was supposed to bring the entire Towson State College community together and culminated with a two-day carnival.
1988
Tigerfest—By 1988, the festival was rebranded as TigerFest and had evolved into “an outdoor picnic for both residents and commuters . . . featuring a disc jockey and games” according to a 1988 Towerlight article. Today, the Campus Activities Board sponsors a week of activities culminating in a concert featuring popular artists.