Academics
The University's Masters in Business Administration aspirations are still stalled thanks to the objections of Morgan State. Provost James Brennan may make some news after a trip to Poland next month. Also, look for movement on his efforts to emphasize international programs (China equals dollar signs).
Meanwhile, the Provost will oversee searches for deans of the liberal arts and business colleges. The grading wars will continue, now that the University Senate's C minus compromise has been rejected by the President's Council. Hopefully the C minus will die by the end of the year. Look for news out of the new and improved Honors College, and expect some changes to commencement. Following in CSM's $10.2 million footsteps, when will Towson announce its next named college?
Constructing changes on campus
The governor and the chancellor will help cut the ribbon on the Center for the Arts on Tuesday. A couple of smaller construction projects are on the horizon: A Child Care Center, a Towson Center renovation, and a Towsontown Garage expansion are on the way. Planning will continue on the huge College of Liberal Arts building.
Later this semester, Starbucks will set up shop in the newly-renovated Cook Library, and a few new "concepts" will premiere in the Susq.
Pamela Mooney's parking unit is imagining a "new parking culture" for the University. A painful process may play out this fall when officials ask the campus for feedback on its long-term parking plan. Students along Kenilworth Drive may be able to hop aboard a TU shuttle soon â€" but they'll be discouraged from parking on campus.
Transportation will be an issue off-campus as well. Commuters will sit in traffic as construction continues on Interstate 695 and York Road. Pedestrian improvements may be made to Cross Campus Drive. And local officials will continue to talk about changes to the York Road corridor.
Changes to campus life
The SGA is off to a great start, planning events and gathering student feedback about transportation issues. Also, the Colltown Shuttle is back, at least on the weekends. "Welcome to Towson" seems to be a success so far; Student Affairs should be congratulated. The student discounts in downtown Towson are a great idea. "I wish they did this when I was a freshman" is a common refrain. But orientation still needs some work; changes will be evident by next fall.
Student Affairs is hoping to improve weekend life on campus; expect a focus on Fridays. (I hope "TU After Hours" happens again.) "Community" will continue to be a buzzword. Look for a continued emphasis on athletics, beginning with Thursday's football game. Are changes in store for the University's tailgating procedures?
If so, how do the police feel about it? Campus officers will work to keep crime trending in a downward direction, but a staffing shortage may make that difficult. Will the late-night Escort service be affected? TU will continue to work with the county police on underage alcohol crackdowns, and officers will be stationed outside Towson bars to cite unruly drinkers.
Awaiting a final funding formula
President Robert Caret's year will be consumed by enrollment projections and funding formulas. "Our biggest issue this year is to get a final answer on aggressive growth or normal growth," he said last week. TU recently crunched the numbers and confirmed that "no matter what we do, if we grow, we run in the red pretty quickly," Caret said.
The data demonstrated that the state's current model for funding TU wouldn't work if the campus is expected to grow significantly. "We need to rebalance the funding a little bit so we get more state support," Caret said. "I think that's going to be a big, big, big thing on the agenda."
By the way, look for Caret to unveil a Towson 2010 "report card" in his Fall Address on September 7. Could Towson take some steps to communicate the 2010 vision to the average student on campus?
In Annapolis, Towson will have two capital budget priorities: Securing $40.2 million in Liberal Arts building funds and expediting the $1.3 million in design funding for campus site, infrastructure, and safety improvements.
Beyond the "beach:" In Towson
With the housing RFP dead, officials will explore a number of options for resident space. The University and the county would still love to put students in downtown Towson (And I'd still love to live there).
Heritage's Towson Circle project is stalled, but work on a redevelopment of Towson Commons is ongoing (Millions of dollars have already been poured into the project). When will the movie theater shut down for renovations, and how many screens with stadium seating will be added?
Another question: Will town/gown relations improve this year? The upcoming "Renaissance Roundtable" should be entertaining. Don't forget: We're only 14 months away from an election.
Will all these items actually happen? Read The Towerlight this year and find out.
Brian Stelter is a junior mass communication and social science major and the Towerlight's editor in chief.
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