By T’Reyah Johnson and Steven Truant
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writers
Towson University welcomed onto campus this year a freshman class that is the most diverse and academically prepared, 2,700 students from 26 countries and more than 30 states, President Kim Schatzel said Tuesday.
After weeks of delay, Schatzel opened the President’s Address boasting about the student body, campus construction of state-of-the-art buildings, faculty achievements and differential tuition for certain colleges and departments. The crowd of faculty, staff and students exploded into applause.
“In the U.S. News & World Report of College and Universities, Towson was ranked for the very first time as the top national university and achieved recognition as one of the top public 100 universities, ahead of schools such as Georgia State University, West Virginia University, Old Dominion, and The University of Memphis,” Schatzel told those who gathered.
“This new top 100 ranking truly reflects a university on the rise,” she emphasized.
More than 19,000 undergraduates started the fall semester, along with 3,000 graduate students, 2,100 transfer students, and the freshman class. Enrollment exceeded 23,000, she said. TU’s six-year graduation rate is the second highest of the 12 universities that comprise the University System of Maryland, she said.
“We cannot achieve a high quality of educational experience without diverse people bringing diverse experiences and diverse perspectives into our classrooms and across our campus,” Schatzel said.
In the 2020 U.S. News & World Report Guide to Best Colleges, TU was ranked among the top 100 universities for overall student diversity and tied with Harvard University on the guide’s social mobility index.
This past summer, TU was named an LGBTQ friendly campus by the Campus Pride Index, a national benchmark that measures institutional commitment to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, questioning and queer inclusive policies, programs and practices.
This fall, after two years of extensive work by several committees, the first phase of The Chosen Name Initiative was implemented so that all members of the community can feel welcomed and their identities supported, she said.
“Over the past four years, I have listened to and learned from our trans and non-binary students, faculty and staff as they tell me about the hurt and struggle they experience when their dead names that do not align with their identities are used,” Schatzel said.
The work of Towson faculty and staff was touted by Schatzel, who singled out a few awarded by the USM Board of Regents. She said Vincent Thomas, a dance professor, was awarded the 2019 USM Board of Regents Faculty Award for Excellence in scholarship, research and creative activity.
“It is very humbling to be recognized at such a high level like this by a university where I’ve been teaching since 2002,” Thomas said. “It is an amazing honor and at the same time, I stand on the shoulders of my ancestors, my dancing ancestors and the students who teach me, and as a person of color it’s a huge honor, it means a lot to me.”
Schatzel also recognized the work of Joyce Garczynski, assistant university librarian for Development and Communication, who received the 2019 Association of College and Research Libraries Award for her leadership.
“It is rewarding and thoughtful,” Garczynski said. “I’ve been working at Towson for over 10 years now, and to be recognized for my professional contributions is an honor. I’m proud to be a part of Towson University.”
In addition to faculty and staff, Schatzel pointed to the numerous construction projects and stressed that the “transformation of the physical campus is nothing short of extraordinary.” The university has invested more than $700 million in capital, which is the largest investment TU has made in more than 25 years, she said.
The science complex, at its full height, will be the largest building on campus when it opens in the fall of 2020, she said. A new building to house the College of Health Professionals soon will be taking shape to anchor the Northeast side of campus when it opens in the spring of 2024.
“It’s a signal of the university’s vitality and importance to Maryland,” Schatzel said of the construction projects.
Schatzel also acknowledged the opening of a new soccer and women’s field hockey complex last year, describing it as the single largest investment TU has made in women’s athletics in its history. She added that the Athletic Department has contributed 6,000 hours of community service hours, more than any other NCAA program
Schatzel also noted that the USM Board of Regents approved a recommendation she made to offer differential tuition in support of the College of Business and Economics, as well as the departments of Nursing and Computer and Information Sciences. Similar action had been taken at the University of Maryland, College Park and University of Maryland at Baltimore.
“The differential tuition will be phased in over three years and will not impact any students that are currently enrolled in these programs,” Schatzel said.
“The total revenue from these differentials will go back to those departments and that college to provide funding to continue the requisite investment in faculty facilities and support to further advance their academic excellence.”
Schatzel ended her long-awaited address as one would a pep rally: “Towson University is truly Maryland’s university, what a great time to be a Towson Tiger!”