October 2017

Message from the Vice President

October has been a very busy month for the Division. Our OPO team helped facilitate, organize and run the national CUMU conference in Denver this year. Additionally, the RESI team has been working diligently on the economic outlook presentation for the EOF on October 19th. Finally, Venture Creation is holding its second annual EdTech Innovation Showcase on October 19th. I want to thank all the staff and their managers for all of their hard work in putting together and running all of these programs. Without your hard work and dedication, none of the things we do could get done.

We continue to make great strides in better integrating into the University. CPS is running non-credit/credit course for the Computer Science Department in security+ and network+. We are going to offer the class again in the spring semester. CGIS has been supporting not only TU police with their GIS needs but also working with TU Administration and Finance. Our Osher program is growing and offering more and different classes for its members.

On the social side, I am glad the cook out went well. I was very thankful that I got to BBQ the burgers and hot dogs. This month we have the Halloween decorating competition, so please participate!

Project Updates

In July we introduced the FY18 Funding by Source graphic providing a high level overview of the divisional budget. In this issue, we are taking a closer look at what makes up our projected FY18 Self Support revenue. The graphic shows that seventy percent of our self-support revenue come from Continuing Education, followed by seventeen percent from Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Most of self support revenue is generated by individual registrations/fees. The largest individual fee is $3,999 (Continuing Education/Medical Coding) while the smallest is $50. (Osher Individual membership.) Next month we will take a deeper look at the Self Support programs.

Click here to see full graphic

Division Updates

Center for Professional Studies
On the first day of the fall semester, an unassuming but exciting pilot program began quietly between three divisions: Computer Science, Information Technology and DIAR’s CPS. The mission: to create a dual enrollment class of both credit and non-credit students who would study focused topics and would be prepared to take two key professional certification exams at the end of the course. The course is currently being housed at 7400 York Road, where many DIAR employees are housed. Students have the option to sign up for a credit course as part of the program of study or they may sign up as non-credit students. The instructor comes from the continuing education program at Towson University where he has taught elements of course for the past few years. The course will be completed at the end of the semester and we will bring you an update at that time.

Office of Partnerships & Outreach
This recently released Fall 2017 BTU Update highlights goals, activities, impacts, and engagements happening on campus and in our communities. Learn how TU is working to make Greater Baltimore event better.

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
The second session of Osher’s fall semester starts on Monday, October 16 and runs through Thursday, November 9. Osher members are enjoying their classes this semester and looking forward to learning more. Retired Towson University faculty members are teaching a couple of courses for us: Lawrence Shirley is teaching “History of Mathematics” and Jo-Ann Pilardi is teaching “World-Changing Ideas of Feminism”. Current TU faculty member, Robert Rook, will be teaching “The United States and the Persian Gulf” this session.

Regional Economic Studies Institute
RESI hosted their annual Economic Outlook Forum on October 19. This year's theme was Building an Entrepreneurship Ecosystem: Challenges & Solutions. Presenters included Daraius Irani, Will Anderson, Mike Gill, Frank Bonsal, Julie Lenzer, and Anthony Williams. The full presentation and photos are available on the website.

TU Incubator

The TU Incubator is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Check out this infographic highlighting the Incubator’s Economic Impact. Learn More

TU Incubator's premier annual event, EdTech Innovation Showcase, took place on October 19. This networking event featured product demonstrations and lightning presentations from education entrepreneurs across the country. Check the website in the coming days to view the pitches.

EdTechStories, November 16 at 5:30pm, will feature David Yaskin from Faculty Guild, who will share his story in the EdTech Industry.

TU Incubator welcomed two new members recently

• Ortus Academy builds programs and games to help students develop a healthy relationship to money. (Baltimore)

• Scrible is an online research/writing platform with next-generation workflow tools for students and insightful analytics for teachers. (San Francisco)

TU IT Updates

The Office of Technology Services (OTS) is introducing Duo multi-factor authentication to all campus departments this fall. Duo requires a second form of identification to help you securely login to systems the university wants to strongly protect, e.g. Office 365, PeopleSoft, and MyTU. Once you see the enrollment request from duo-noreply@noreply.towson.edu, please enroll right away. Duo enrollment will become mandatory two weeks after the initial email, but by enrolling earlier in the window, you can pick a time that works for you. For more information about Duo, visit the Duo webpage at www.towson.edu/duo

Support TU

The Faculty/Staff campaign envelopes containing payroll deduction cards may have arrived to your mailbox by now. Please consider supporting the work faculty and staff are doing as well as helping students have fulfilling experiences here at TU. There are over 700 ways you can do this through the campaign. Please remember that it’s not about how much you give it’s about showing your support to TU. Any size gift makes a difference!

Follow the Division on LinkedIn

In an effort to more widely share our work, we have created a LinkedIn company page. Blog posts and TU and Division news will be shared there. Since a majority of our staff have profiles, our hope is that you will share our content and your blog posts via our LinkedIn page to your professional network. Please follow us.

On-Campus Event Attendance

In an effort to provide staff member 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.