Message from the Provost

As we begin taking steps to become an R2 university, it is worth having a discussion on the place and types of research at TU—how it is defined, how it is measured, and why it matters. To be clear: Decisions on what “counts” as scholarship are best left at the disciplinary level through faculty conversations, peer affirmation, and in some cases accrediting bodies. There are well-defined areas such as grant writing and peer-reviewed publication that can be measured and impact scores carefully calculated. These are critical measures of scholarly accomplishment and clearly will comprise a significant component of our growing emphasis on research/scholarship/creative inquiry. This is important work, and the faculty engaged in these activities are advancing knowledge in every discipline represented on our campus.

Even as we look to support and increase those traditional forms of research, as a university that takes seriously its role in leadership for the public good, we ought to consider how the emerging area of public scholarship might be supported and valued. While there are many definitions of public scholarship, in broad strokes it refers to scholarly or creative activity that combines a faculty member’s disciplinary-based intellectual activity with public practice and demonstrated public impact. For example, in my own discipline (history), providing my expertise in 17th-century Chesapeake history to assist in developing a museum display might be considered public scholarship, whereas speaking to a local birding society about my knowledge of the nesting habits of cuckoos surely would not.

Public impact can be demonstrated in numerous ways and takes many forms, but at its core, it is best measured as a mutually beneficial outcome for our community collaborators and faculty. Fortunately, we have national leaders in public scholarship on our campus with subject matter expertise who also give our students experiential opportunities in community engagement and bring these experiences back to the classroom. This translates to countless examples of our students taking this knowledge and practice to create change as they venture into their future lives. Oftentimes public scholarship involves interdisciplinary work that crosses departmental boundaries, spurring discovery at the interphase of disciplines and unlocking niche areas of scholarly expertise for faculty. This may complicate existing assessments of scholarship, but it also opens the door for exciting collaborations with colleagues here at TU and outside the university.

Clearly delineating the difference between public scholarship and public service will be critical should we decide to incorporate public scholarship into our PTRM considerations. There are models in higher education for doing this successfully, and while some disciplines lend themselves to public scholarship more easily than others, not all faculty want to engage in this type of scholarship. But for those who do, we will provide clear guidance and rigorous assessments of quality and impact just as we do for more traditional forms of scholarship. I look forward to further discussions with all of you regarding this important consideration.

Here’s to a safe and energizing spring semester,

Melanie

R2 Status Update

TU’s quest for R2 status “will require significant collaborative efforts across campus,” suggests Matthew Chambers, the Associate Provost for Administration and Finance, “but we are confident that with the investments we’ve made and will continue to make, and with the dedicated faculty and staff we have, we will get there.”

R2 requirements and current status

In order to be minimally eligible for R2 status, universities must graduate 20 research doctoral students annually and have at least $5 million in research expenditures. For FY 2019, TU’s research expenditures were $3.4 million. Planned investments in the research area will allow us to meet and exceed the $5 million minimum quickly.

TU currently awards research/scholarship doctoral degrees in three programs: Instructional Technology (EdD), Occupational Science (ScD), and Information Technology (DSc). Investing in the doctoral degree programs TU currently has in place will be the quickest path for the institution to reach R2 status. In order to grow these programs, we will focus on increasing enrollment as well as shortening time to degree. Even as we begin these investments, we will also look to build a modest portfolio of additional doctoral programs that will require both USM and MHEC support.

Increasing investments in academic affairs

Reaching the minimal status for R2 would be attainable with smaller, strategic investments, but we do not aspire merely to qualify for R2 status; rather, we aspire to be nationally recognized as an institution that demonstrates excellence in research, creative scholarship, and teaching at the R2 level. To do so requires both short and long-term investments.

To date, TU has increased investment in academic affairs by $9.5 million, with increased pay to adjunct faculty, converting lecturers to fully benefitted positions and increasing their base pay, adding graduate assistant lines, increasing undergraduate research support, and adding new tenure-track faculty lines. In the next two years, we will invest roughly $7 million in more faculty and staff lines, increased faculty research support, and increased graduate student support.

Another pillar of TU’s plan to reach R2 status involves investing and expanding the inventory of academic affairs space on campus, including both classroom and research space. With the opening of the new Science Complex, construction of the new College of Health Professions building well underway, and plans to renovate Smith Hall, TU’s academic footprint will continue to grow in the coming decade.

Cyber4All Center

At the December Academic Senate meeting, the Provost announced plans for a Cyber4All, a TU Center for Innovative and Interdisciplinary Cybersecurity. The Center will reinforce TU’s demonstrated excellence and national reputation in cybersecurity education and research. Led by TU’s Computer and Information Sciences department, TU has become a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education and in Cyber Operations.

With a vision to be a global leader in inclusive, interdisciplinary cybersecurity education, research, and innovation, the Cyber4All Center’s mission will be to identify, seek external support for, and address the grand cybersecurity challenges through interdisciplinary education and research. The Center will engage faculty and students throughout TU and will work with government and industry partners to solve cybersecurity issues and transfer results to deployable technologies.

The inaugural Director of the Cyber4All Center, Professor Siddharth Kaza, will serve as the inaugural TU Maryland E-Nnovation Endowed Professor of Cybersecurity. This position is made possible with a $1 million endowment funded 50% with TU Foundation funds and 50% from the Maryland Department of Commerce E-Nnovation Initiative Fund.

The Academic Senate has discussed, revised, and approved more than 25 policy and curriculum changes in Fall 2021. Two are of particular importance:

• In Fall 2021, the Academic Senate passed a revised Grievance Policy. This revised policy increases confidentiality and decreases time to resolution. The policy is on the agenda for approval for the President’s Cabinet meeting. If approved, the policy will be implemented in Fall 2022.
• In Spring 2022, the Academic Senate will work on streamlining the merit process. The discussion opened at the February Senate meeting. If you have any feedback or concerns, make sure to contact your Senate representative.

Additionally, we are working to build and sustain strong relationships with the College Councils. As the branch of shared governance within the colleges, the College Councils are an important part of the university and should bring any university-wide concerns to the Academic Senate. In the coming months, the Academic Senate will be working with College Councils on distribution and analysis of the Leadership Assessment of the Provost’s Council.

Finally, be on the lookout this semester for college and university-level elections to university committees and the Academic Senate. The Academic Senate chair and the TU AAUP president work together to make sure the elections are clear, organized, and easy to navigate!

Please reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns.

Dr. Desirée Rowe

Academic Senate Chair

drowe@towson.edu

In 2009, Professor Estes received her PhD from the University of Arizona in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. After completing her post-doctoral research fellowship with the Institute for Genome Science at the University of Maryland, she joined the Department of Biological Sciences at Towson University.

Professor Estes has several public-facing scholarship projects, for which she was recognized by Fisher College of Science & Mathematics with the Business and Community Outreach Award in 2020.

One of her projects, her blog Mostly Microbes, discusses the importance of microbes to human and environmental health and the importance of science. On Mostly Microbes she has translated scientific literature, written reviews of microbiology books for children and adults, and described active-learning ways to teach microbiology. After 7 years and about 100 blog posts later, the blog has more than 145,000 readers from 187 countries and 261 subscribers. Her readers and social media followers (3409 Twitter; 725 Facebook; 262 on Instagram) are parents, Girl Scouts, citizen scientists, and K-12 teachers.

Another one of Professor Estes projects is “Crafty Microbiology”. In response to the COVID pandemic and the shift to teaching online, Professor Estes and her collaborators created “Crafty Microbiology” to teach undergraduate students essential microbiology skills safely at home. “Crafty Micro” was inspired by some of the outreach she did at her oldest daughter’s elementary school STEM night. When “Crafty Microbiology” was published in the Journal for Microbiology and Biology Education, it was recognized in the editor’s prospective piece. “Crafty Micro” remains widely adopted worldwide by educators at several levels.

Finally, this past summer Professor Estes was an invited guest on the kid’s science podcast “Kids Solve It”. There she discussed “How are YOU like a dung beetle,” and it was well received.

Dr. Johnson began her new appointment on January 12, 2022. She is a certified Associate Diversity Coach who will be supporting the Division of Academic Affairs to recruit, retain, and advance diverse faculty and librarians. Additionally, she will partner with the Office of Inclusion & Institutional Equity (OIIE) and the Faculty Academic Center for Excellence at Towson (FACET) to lead inclusion initiatives focused on fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment in TU’s classrooms and academic workplaces.

In addition to serving as a Clinical Associate Professor in the College of Health Professions (CHP), Dr. Johnson was the CHP Dean’s Faculty Fellow for Diversity & Inclusion. In this role, she served as a liaison, mentor, and advocate for social justice within CHP, including facilitating a mentoring group for students from underrepresented groups as well as serving as a member on the USM Health Disparities Convening Planning Committee.

Dr. Johnson earned her Bachelor of Arts in both Speech Language Pathology & Audiology and Psychology from George Washington University before pursuing her Master of Science degree in Speech Language Pathology from Loyola College in Baltimore. Professor Johnson received her PhD in Gerontology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.