Seven professors students love

From May 4 to May 8, students across the country will take part in Teacher Appreciation Week by recognizing educators who’ve touched their lives. To celebrate, we asked students to share their favorite professors on campus—and they didn’t disappoint. Hundreds of responses illuminated the ways TU professors inspire and enable students to meet their full potential.

Below, meet seven professors that stood out, from a geology professor who uses water balloons for simulations to an Honors College professor who helps students reconnect with nature. 

“It should be fun.” 

George Guice

Assistant professor of geology, Fisher College of Science and Mathematics 

Can you outpace an erupting volcano? How do you stay alive if you’re struck by lightning? What are volcanic bombs and how do you dodge them? These are the questions George Guice uses to bring geology to life for his students.

In his three years as a professor, Guice has found that weaving storytelling into his lectures offers relatable entry points for exploring science. With research experience from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., Johns Hopkins University and the American Museum of Natural History in New York, Guice has those stories in spades, and he uses them to make learning fun while teaching the theoretical and practical sides of geology.

Case in point: While 100-level students throw water balloons to simulate volcano bombs, students in upper-level courses develop and present geological maps to scientists from the Maryland Geologic Survey and Johns Hopkins University.  

There is an exuberance to Dr. Guice's personality that’s contagious in the lecture and the class as a whole. My major has nothing to do with rocks, but after being in his class I love identifying the rocks around campus.

Anthony Galie ’28, student of George Guice

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“I want them to be well-prepared to go do awesome things.” 

Katie Dondero

Research professor and clinical assistant professor of kinesiology, College of Health Professions  

Katie Dondero spent 12 years as a clinical researcher and exercise physiologist in hospitals before stepping in front of the classroom.

That experience gives her an intimate awareness of the practical knowledge most useful to students after graduation, plus a deep well of real-life stories from which she can bring that knowledge to life. Students say this combination makes her a pragmatic and engaging professor.

Whether teaching clinical exercise testing and prescription or the class she developed on nutrition for exercise and sport, Dondero weaves hands-on instruction and practical application into all of her pedagogy, making the subject matter relatable while building lasting rapport with students. 

The real-life examples she presents makes it easier to understand and retain the information we need. She truly engages with students and is open to answering any question or talking about anything. That builds strong connections.

David Romero ’26, student of Katie Dondero

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“I love what I do, and I love where I do it.” 

Mark Flores

Assistant teaching professor of management, College of Business and Economics 

Time seemed to stop when Mark Flores ’04, ’13, returned to campus to guest lecture in his former professor’s class. Flores loved the energy of the classroom so much he decided to become an adjunct professor.

He started teaching Business Excellence 460, guiding upper-level seniors through networking, salary negotiations and other real-world professional skills in a course that coincides with students’ senior internships. The course happens at a critical moment when students are preparing to embark on their professional lives, and Flores found classroom conversations were meaningful and deeply gratifying—so much so that he became a full-time professor.

More than a decade later, Flores teaches a full suite of leadership, team building and ethics courses for the College of Business and Economics and continues to lead the same business excellence class where it all began. In all his courses, he incorporates recent headlines, hands-on application and guest speakers to create dialogue that keeps everyone engaged—and launches students to success.  

Professor Flores is one of the kindest, most approachable and passionate teachers I have known. He actively engages students through thought-provoking discussions and tailors his classes to their needs by incorporating workshops, games, guest speakers and activities that challenge and connect us beyond a traditional lecture experience.

Jeremy Wittstadt ’26, student of Mark Flores

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“Our students inspire me every day.” 

Walter Mills

Assistant teaching professor, College of Education 

Education is in Walter Mills’ blood. As a teenager, a volunteer tutoring gig opened his eyes to a career that leveraged his natural people skills and gave him the satisfaction of helping others. He’s been teaching ever since. Mills spent 30 years as a middle school teacher, assistant principal and principal at Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) before rising to lead all middle schools for the district, which is one of the nation’s largest.

A partnership between BCPS and TU brought him to campus, where he found he could employ the same techniques of care and community building to foster positive class environments in a college setting. He believes that when students know a professor cares, it gives them confidence in the classroom.

He’s intentional about showing his commitment by checking in on students, showing interest in their lives and demonstrating his enthusiasm for the subject matter. In return, he’s found TU students to be incredibly hardworking and the role to be so rewarding that his short, post-BCPS stint as a professor turned into a longtime job and passion.  

He comes in every day with a smile that says, ‘I love teaching.' He takes the time to talk with his students every class and gives us assignments on topics that are current. I vibe with his energy.

Emmy Dreeben ’29, student of Walter Mills

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“Teaching is something I’ve always wanted to do.” 

Maggie Biller

Psychology lecturer, College of Liberal Arts 

As a professor and adviser, Maggie Biller ’21, ’23, knows the course she teaches, Psychology Research methods, is intimidating. The required upper-level course for psychology majors is many students’ first foray into research.

So Biller gets to know the psychology topics her students are most interested in, then tailors the weekly coursework to focus on those topics. Having interesting subject matter makes the research more approachable, giving her students an accessible pathway into the coursework and encouraging lively class discussions which Biller says are her favorite part of being a professor.

It runs in the family—Biller’s great-grandmother graduated from TU (then the Maryland State Normal School) in 1928 and worked as an elementary school teacher. Biller says teaching is something she’s always wanted to do. Her students say it shows.  

She builds a cohesive classroom where students work together… she gives students the freedom to design their own research projects and designs lectures around student interests. She cares a lot about her students learning and works to help them succeed.

Sarah Beall ’27, student of Maggie Biller

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“I want to invite them into this world.” 

Aaron Ziegel

Associate professor of music, College of Fine Arts and Communication 

As the teacher of the required “History of Music of the European Classical Tradition” course, Aaron Ziegel has the unique experience of exploring classical music with every single music major at TU.

Some of those students have never heard classical music before, so he takes great care to choose compositions that will surprise, inspire and delight them. Other students have been studying classical music since childhood, so he crafts lectures that enable them to connect the familiar pieces into a continuous and understandable narrative. For all his students, Ziegel aims to make classical music more approachable, conveying the necessary skills to identify and contextualize any music they encounter within the tradition.

Ziegel—a skilled pianist and scholar in residence at Opera Baltimore who’s lectured for audiences around the country and still performs regularly—says the most important thing is sharing his love for music. By exposing students to compositions across a range of styles, his students get a broader range of options from which to draw inspiration, influence and excitement.  

He includes the best quality music in every class. He knows the history of every score, recording, performance and primary evidence shown…I’m always surprised to learn something new and get valuable insight on the subject at hand.

Charlotte Kutz ’26, student of Aaron Ziegel

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“I get to be a witness to tremendous growth.” 

Maria Brown

Assistant teaching professor, Honors College

As a pediatrician, Maria Brown loved helping children meet their potential but saw how environmental health factors could lead to undesired outcomes, such as childhood obesity. She became a passionate advocate for physical activity and started working for UNICEF, training frontline global health workers on the positive impacts of healthy environments.

Now she brings that same mix of passion and experience to help students understand the factors that shape environmental health and the ways they can improve it for themselves and their communities. Her Towson seminar and scientific inquiry courses help students disconnect from their phones, reconnect with nature and explore the impact it has on their overall well-being, with assignments like keeping a nature journal and writing an op-ed on an environmental health topic of their choice.

Knowing many of her students are new on campus, Brown cultivates a class structure that encourages students to interact with each other and build their confidence on campus. In the process, she’s helping students meet their potential here just like she did as a pediatrician.  

Dr. Brown is very intentional about building a classroom culture that encourages participation, and she makes an effort to ensure all students feel comfortable contributing. Her approach to discussion has shaped the way I engage in conversations, both in and outside of the classroom, encouraging me to be more thoughtful, open-minded and confident in sharing my perspective.

Sierra Nathan ’28., student of Maria Brown