December 2017

Message from the Vice President

Most of you have survived Thanksgiving holidays and I presume are eagerly anticipating the upcoming Christmas Holidays. For me this is also time for reflection as I report to the president on the progress of our strategic plan goals as well as the development of our core values. Both of these endeavors are far from done, but we have made good progress on both. As we move forward, the progress at times will feel painfully slow, but be assured we are moving forward. As we work and become more integrated into the University community, our usual routines and projects may change. That is fine, we can adapt. I think what attracted many of us here to the division and keeps us here, is that we are a group of individuals that solve problems-for our clients-not in the Liam Neeseon sort of way. We now have a new set of clients with different problems to solve. Not to give ourselves too big of a head, but we as individual organizations have survived two recession, four state administration changes as well as budget issues. I am supremely confident that whatever challenges we face or are thrown at us, we will come through better, faster and stronger as we have in the past!

Divisional Budget Composition

The TU Incubator represents 6% or $74,000 of the projected Self Support revenue for DIAR. That revenue comes from several sources, including membership fees, grant support, and sponsorship.

Membership fees are based on the type of membership the company has with the incubator. Resident members, those with dedicated offices on the second floor, pay $350 - $550 a month. Associate members, those with access to our facilities (meeting/conference rooms, common space) pay $200 a month. Virtual members, who do not require access to facilities, pay $100 a month. All members have access to our business development support, workshops, events, and mentor network.

Our single largest supporter, besides Towson University, is Baltimore County Department of Economic and Workforce Development. Baltimore County has supported the incubator since its inception in 2007, recognizing the importance of helping early stage technology companies to grow and succeed in the county. The incubator has also received multi-year support from TEDCO, Maryland Commerce, M&T Bank, Whiteford Taylor Preston, and Calvert Education.

Our mission is not to generate funds, it is to create wealth and jobs through the lens of the University’s mission. Since 2007 we have supported over 80 start-up companies who have produced more than $150 million in economic impact for the Baltimore region and the State of Maryland.

TU Incubator member companies represent a number of industry sectors from IT support to creative services, but our current focus is education technology (edtech), companies with innovative solutions in early childhood, K-12, postsecondary, and workforce education.

Click here to see full graphic

Division Updates

Applied Research and Technical Services

• On January 16, TU will present to Admiral Darrah of the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) and the staff of the Program Executive Office for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons (PEO (U&W)) on the Maryland Defense Network (MDN) tool. In preparation, the project team is pulling together a sample interactive visualization that supports a need expressed by the Admiral to be able to proactively view company capabilities and existing partnerships to support the mission of NAVAIR.

• ArcGIS Enterprise has been installed in our lab environment and the CGIS and IT teams are currently testing and configuring the environment in preparation for implementation on the TU campus.

• RESI recently completed its fourth economic impact report for the Maryland State Arts Council. It shows Maryland Arts and Entertainment (A&E) Districts collectively supported $855.8 million in state GDP, approximately $63.5 million in state and local tax revenues, and 8,594 jobs that paid nearly $267 million in wages in FY2016.

• CGIS provided updates to a customized impact analysis tool for Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) to support users of the OSPREY system in generating reports on impacted facilities, populations, etc. located in the defined disaster area(s).

Continuing Education

• During the week of 12/4, there has been a great deal of activity in room 111 as the final installation of the lecture capture and Crestron control system has been completed. This equipment will enable ConED to do something that has never been done in the past: capture and stream classes. While this technology is currently being used as a standard across campus, this is our first opportunity to work with it and to align ourselves with the experiences being provided to students on campus. One of the really exciting opportunities that this presents is the ability to create online training programs based on the work being done in the classroom. That will give the student a much better experience, especially if students join us online in real time. In addition to improving the student experience, updates to the online materials could be handled by our instructors and team members instead of having to pay for these same services. For in-class students, through the use of Panopto software, our instructors will be able to record and provide their lectures for students to review at their convenience through our LMS. We believe that by providing this reinforcement for our students will not only raise the overall quality of our courses, but will have a positive effect on certification exam outcomes.

Organization and Leadership Development

• Established in 1996, the President’s Leadership Institute is a professional development program for faculty and staff that fosters personal development, interdisciplinary collaborations and a strong connection to the campus community. The 2018 staff program includes 18 participants who come from all departments on campus, including Ashley Buzzeo (CGIS), Michael Siers (RESI), and Vicki Simek (CPS). In addition, the Office of Inclusion and Institutional Equity, who administers the Institute, invited Bernard Reynolds to co-facilitate the program. Participating in the Institute is consistent with our mission of cultivating leadership for our staff and building meaningful partnerships across campus. In subsequent issues of Intercom, we will provide more updates.

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

• Staff is training on new membership and registration software, ProClass this month

• Renewal season is upon us with Osher members renewing their memberships for 2018

• Osher has worked with University Marketing & Communications to redesign their course catalog. The spring semester catalog will be mailed in late December.

Office of Administration and Finance

• Timesheets: PeopleSoft timesheets are due by 10:00 a.m. Monday, December 18  for all staff. In addition, please remember to complete and submit any Unanet timesheets before leaving for winter break.

• Holiday Schedule: The University will be closed for winter break from Friday, December 22 to Monday, January 1.  Below is an explanation of the holiday closure for contingent II and regular staff:  

December 22 – University holiday, TU Closed

December 25 – State holiday, TU Closed

December 26 – University holiday, TU Closed

December 27 – TU Closed, use earned floating holiday

December 28 – TU Closed, use earned floating holiday

December 29 – TU Closed, use earned floating holiday

January, 1 – State holiday, TU Closed

If you do not have an earned floating holiday to use, you will need to use accrued annual or personal leave.

If anyone is planning to work from 7400 York Road over the holiday break, please let Linda Natale (4-5285 or lnatale@towson.edu) know so she can notify the University. Linda will need to provide them with a list of individuals. 

Office of Partnerships & Outreach

• OPO is starting to plan the 2018 BTU Partnerships Showcase, which highlights the impactful work of TU faculty, students, and staff in support of BTU: Partnerships at Work for Greater Baltimore. Save the date for Tuesday, April 24.

• In an effort to recognize and celebrate the impacts of BTU, the BTU Council will award the first BTU Partnership Awards in early 2018. Nominate a partnership by February 9.

• OPO created and implemented a comprehensive digital communications plan to support enrollment in three online courses offered by CPS. The campaign runs through mid-January, but the initial response and success has been good. This process will act as a model for future online paid campaigns for the Division.

• OPO facilitated the production of and communications for Metropolitan Universities journal issue 28.4, Collective Impact Strategies. The issue provides guidance and best practices for how to initiate, facilitate, and strengthen collective impact initiatives on campuses and in communities.

TU Incubator

• New member: SpeakApp is a DC-based edtech startup focused on foreign language acquisition that promotes global citizenship and cross-cultural understanding.

• On December 6, TU Incubator and Sylvan Learning hosted 50+ people at Potential of EdTech (POE): Women + Wine + Wisdom. This networking event brought together members of the Bmore edtech ecosystem to learn from some of TU Incubator's female-run member companies, including CourseArc, Infercabulary, OgStar, and Mindprint Learning.

On-Campus Event Attendance

In an effort to provide staff members with more opportunities to attend events that best align with their work and interests, staff members can now choose which on-campus events they attend. Staff are encouraged to get pre-approval from their supervisor. Attendance must be reported via this form. Contact Julie Knight with questions.

Support TU

The TU Men's Basketball Team are hot right now. After playing seven games in 15 days on two continents, the Tigers have now won eight in a row, which is the program's longest winning streak since 1993. And at 8-1, TU is off to its best start since the 1979 season. You can catch them in action for free on January 5, 2018, when they take on University of North Carolina Wilmington in a BTU-themed game. Email Kathleen Crostic, OPO, by 12/19 if you want to sit with the Division's group. Family is invited.

Division Event Division Holiday Party Wednesday, December 13, 4:30–6:30 pm 7400 York Road, Room 301 The Social Committee has prepared a great menu and beverages to go along with fun activities—cooking decorating, selfie station, music. There will also be a 50/50 raffle to refill social committee coffers for 2018. Bring your appetite as we enjoy this festive time of year together. Ugly sweaters optional! President's Holiday Party Thursday, December 14, 4:00–6:00 p.m. Potomac Lounge, University Union Join President Schatzel and university faculty and staff to celebrate the season. December Birthdays • John Spears, RESI • Marina Gendlina, IT Services • Cassidy Cregan, OPO

Pet of the Month Luna moved to Maryland from New Jersey just about a year ago and has not looked back! Owner: Vicki Simek, CPS To submit your pet email Sharyn Grove a photo and pet(s) name(s).

Feedback

Have feedback or want to share an update, email innovation@towson.edu.