By John Diggs
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
The president of Towson University said Thursday that she will not tolerate racism on campus and hopes to diversify the faculty.
“I will not welcome it on campus,” President Kim Schatzel said about racism.
Speaking before almost a full crowd at the Stephans Hall theatre, Schatzel said she is aware that some racial minorities do not feel welcome on campus because of recent racist comments that have been made.
Schatzel later said that he hopes to get more support to hire minority and women faculty. She needs support from not only the faculty itself but the students as well, she said.
“It has become clear that more resources are needed to move this a mile rather than an inch,” Schatzel said.
Schatzel said that during her first 90 days as president of Towson, she has learned that many people do not know much about the university or still have misconceptions about what happens here.
She said many people don’t understand how much the campus has changed over the years. She said that even alumni don’t know about the many commuters the school has or that it isn’t an exclusively teachers college anymore.
“People are influenced by what we were 165 years ago than what we are today,” Schatzel said during her speech.
Schatzel said she plans to tell the full story of Towson with a program called TU Matters, which she expects to be in effect in two years.
Schatzel also wants to develop a world class faculty development center that would help professors improve their teaching skills.
Schatzel said graduate students are generally happy at Towson but feel as though the undergraduates take up most of the resources. She said 17 percent of the students on campus are graduate students and that she would look into what can be done to help them out.
Schatzel wants to help transfer students, who make up 50 percent of Towson, with degree plans that are completed in a timely and efficient way.
Schatzel said she wants to start a program that helps students called the Transfer, International, Graduate, and Enrollment, Resource initiative. or the TIGER way.
Schatzel said that she had some projects that she hopes will be used to get Towson involved in the greater Baltimore area. She later said that she will get into more detail about the greater Baltimore areas at the TU showcase.
“I believe this is a great university with a great future,” Schatzel said.