Video: Meet our Team- Cynthia Knight

January 4, 2011

Bobbie

Our entire leadership team is so excited to welcome Cynthia Knight to our team!   Cynthia is our new Policy and Operations Manager and to sum up her job in a few words—she’s here for our employees!  Cynthia serves as an advocate for our employees and ensures our Human Resources policies and procedures are in line with the University, University of System of Maryland, and State of Maryland’s policies.  I personally get to work with Cynthia often on projects like the DECO intranet, divisional reports, and our strategic plan.  She also was a recent guest blogger!

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Posted by Bobbie Laur

Video: DECO’s 2010 Holiday Card

December 13, 2010

Bobbie

For those that voted—No it wasn’t Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman, or Rudolph—our 2010 holiday video card includes our talented staff and students singing (and in some cases dancing) to our version of the 12 Days of Christmas.  Jenn Lake, our student graphic designer, deserves a  big THANK YOU for all her work in producing this year’s video.

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Posted by Bobbie Laur

My experience teaching with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

November 22, 2010

Bobbie

Towson’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute is one our most dynamic community engagement initiatives.  I published a blog post back in August on their upcoming Fall semester. About a year ago, Jackie Gratz, Osher Director, attended a workshop Sharyn Kuczka and I facilitated at the Pikesville Senior Center on using Social Media.  During that 1.5 hour workshop, we touched on the basics of social media, but more specifically using Facebook and privacy concerns that were relevant to that audience.

Following the workshop, Jackie approached Sharyn and me about creating a 4-week course for Osher.  While we were interested, we had a few concerns:

  1. Is there enough interest in this topic among the Osher membership?
  2. Can we cover all the topics we had in mind in just 4 weeks?

Now that the class is over I can say the answers to those concerns were Yes and No.  Yes, there was plenty of interest—in fact we had 50 students and a waiting list!  I’d have to say no, in terms of whether we were able to cover everything we wanted to.  We made great strides in educating the students on the social media tools available for their use and teaching them how to maintain their own security on these tools.  However, based on the class feedback, an 8-week course would have allowed us to expand on these topics as opposed to just touching on the high level points.

One of my favorite parts of the course was having John Laur as a guest speaker.  John, who happens to also be my (new) husband, is the Digital Director for WBAL 1090 and 98 Rock.  John discussed the impact social media is having on traditional forms of media like radio.  He focused on branding, information gathering, and audience engagement.

The course was a great experience and it’s clear that people of all ages are interested in experimenting with all of these new tools to connect with our friends, family, co-workers, and in a lot of their cases grand-kids!

1 Comment | Education, Lifelong Learning, Students, TU Faculty & Staff | Permalink
Posted by Bobbie Laur

Three Things That Bobbie Can’t Live Without

October 29, 2010

Bobbie

As a borderline Millennial, I of course have trouble narrowing down my “can’t live withouts” to just THREE since I am continually over saturated with stimulus from technology gadgets, mobile devices, accessories, to endless entertainment options. But here goes nothing…


The giant iPhone–aka the iPad
In my bag today, I have my iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Pro….the one that I’m finding myself most reliant on these days is my iPad!  Why?  At first, I was skeptical because I couldn’t think of many uses that I didn’t already use my  iPhone for and I was repeatedly told ” It can’t replace a laptop.” Well, I just returned from a 5 day work conference and had only my iPad and was able to do everything I needed to from accessing this blog online to approve posts to creating a spreadsheet of prospective CUMU members  using the Numbers App.  One tip for anyone thinking about going down the iPad route is that you need to have reliable wifi access. You can purchase a cellular data plan, but  it only takes opening a few PDFs or pictures to use up your data allocation.

A red sharpie (fine point of course)
These two favorite things might seem in direct opposition of each other, but while I am a bit of a gadget collector I still have to hold the paper in my hands and use my favorite red sharpie to finalize a report, edit a press release, or make my last round of changes on a CUMU recruitment letter.  I love Sharpies period. To be honest, when they came out with the Sharpie Pen I think it was one of my favorite days of 2008.

My reusable beverage cup
As my co-workers can attest to, I am a pretty energetic morning person, even without being a coffee drinker.  I’ve always had a little bit of jealousy though for coffee drinkers, mainly because of the “the Starbucks effect.” You know the regular coffee drinker with their overly specific order and quirky relationship with the barrister.  Anyway, I was also jealous of the way coffee drinkers walk around all morning with their travel mugs while I had a McDonalds fountain diet coke cup or water bottle.  My wishes were answered when I came across my insulated reusable cup at Bed Bath and Beyond.  Now I have my own fun cup to carry around in the AM and actually most of the day, and for those wondering; my beverage breakdown is about 40% of the time Diet Coke, 35% H2O, and 25% Iced Tea.

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Posted by Bobbie Laur

2010 CUMU Conference featuring Richard Florida

October 11, 2010

Bobbie

In just about two weeks 200-300 of the country’s leading Urban and Metropolitan university presidents, senior administrators, and faculty members will come together for the 16th annual CUMU conference.  The 2010 conference is titled “Aligning the Metropolitan University with Business, Government, and the Nonprofit Sectors,”  and according to the host President, Dr. John Welty, “invites a broad discussion of the ways in which the key contributors to a dynamic and successful urban mission work together.”

The backdrop for this year’s conference is the Central Valley of California on the campus of California State University, Fresno.  Towson University, specifically DECO, actually serves as the Headquarters for CUMU and I serve as the Executive Director, which allows me to connect with colleagues and institutions like Towson from around the country.  I thought I’d share the top 5 things I’m most looking forward to at the 2010 Conference:

1. Hearing the key-note address from Richard Florida–I’ve been a long time fan of him and think the “Rise of the Creative Class,” was one of the most important books in the past 5 years.

2. Participating in the concurrent sessions–with over 100 presentations at this year’s conference, I’m bound to walk away with lots of ideas.

3. Seeing the response to the new “Resources Portal” — Nicole Schiraldi will demo this new online portal will allow an easy exchange of innovative practices and programs between CUMU members.

4. Listening to Congressman Chaka Fattah, Chair of the Congressional Urban Caucus–Congressman Fattah will be  providing an update on what’s happening on the Hill relevant to urban higher education issues.

5. Interacting with the CUMU Executive Committee at our annual meeting–this group of dynamic Presidents are the energy behind the CUMU mission and just getting to be in the room is a pretty cool experience for me.

After writing this I’m even more excited about the upcoming conference!

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Posted by Bobbie Laur

Meet our Team – Joyce Hoebing

August 26, 2010

Bobbie

Joyce Hoebing joined the DECO team in January 2009 and was welcomed with more than open arms!  Everyone in DECO was highly anticipating her arrival, not only because we’d been hearing wonderful things about her but because she was going to lead the division in consolidating many of our Administrative and Finance functions thus making us much more efficient!

Since her arrival, Joyce has added new staff members, implemented new finance policies, created analytical tools for our Directors, and most importantly made all the ladies in the division jealous with her incredible collection of unique jewelry!

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Posted by Bobbie Laur

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in 15 seconds!

August 19, 2010

Bobbie

Towson University’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute ) has been serving the 50 and older population of the greater Baltimore Metropolitan region since 1999.  The Institute was originally founded as the Auburn Society, and was renamed in 2006 when Towson University received the first in a series of grants from the Bernard Osher Foundation.  Some interesting points of pride you may not know about the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute are:

  • They are close to 600 members strong!
  • Their semi-annual preview event brings together hundreds of guests and participants to hear from the upcoming semester’s teachers. 
  • They partner with the NY Times Knowledge Network to provide online adult learning opportunities.
  • Their Director, Jackie Gratz, received her M.A. from Harvard University in History.

The core of the program is the courses they offer each Spring and Fall in two sessions.  This coming Fall Osher members can take courses in a variety of areas including:

  • Bob Dylan: The Artist Behind the Legend
  • The Enduring Art of Japan
  • Wild Kingdom: The Behavior and Ecology of Maryland’s Wildlife
  • Social Media: What’s it all about? (co-taught by yours truly and Sharyn Kuczka)

Now, that you’ve heard my highlights of the MAGNIFICENT Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Towson University, check out this 15 second commercial currently rolling on MPT!

1 Comment | Education, Lifelong Learning, Students, Uncategorized | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Bobbie Laur

#FollowFriday Recommendations

July 23, 2010

Bobbie

In the spirit of Follow Friday, I thought I’d highlight some of my favorite twitters out there and also encourage you to keep up with us through our Facebook and Twitter accounts.

A few of my #FollowFriday recommendations:

@karinfischer: Karin is a senior reporter for the Chronicle of Higher Education.  Her twitter feed focuses on internationalization and economic development issues within higher-education. My favorite part about her tweets and posts are the intersections of those two rather distinct focuses.

@prattlibrary: In today’s economy, libraries are more important than ever.  Did you know that this past year the Enoch Pratt Library saw a 92% increase in attendance at their Career and Job Workshops?  The primary reason I love following them is because they are constantly posting unique upcoming events happening at libraries and other venues around the city!

@ChrisBrogan: If someone were going to name the Czar of Social Media, Chris would definitely be at the top of the short list. He consistently posts new social media and marketing technologies and even with over 144K followers he manages to be responsive to questions and comments.

There are tons of fellow TU colleagues on Twitter. So to avoid leaving out a few (inevitably), I’m going to avoid the laundry list and name a few of the longest running and active accounts:

@TowsonU: Official TU Media Relations
@TowsonAlumni: Events and People updates from the Alumni Office
@TheTowerlight: TU’s award winning student newspaper
@TowsonTigers: Official TU Athletics

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Posted by Bobbie Laur

Second Chance Scholarships, $1 Million award from the Bernard Osher Foundation

June 24, 2010

Bobbie

This past month I was scanning through one of the dozens of university magazines I receive from member institutions of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU). As the organization’s Executive Director, I find myself on the mailing list for most of our university member’s publications.  Reading university publications is actually something I really enjoy and I get my daily higher-education news dose from the Chronicle or Inside Higher-Ed.

This particular day I was reading Perspectives the News Magazine of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and came across the article “Second Chances”. I was blown away by the stories of students that received the UMKC Bernard Osher Reentry Scholarship.  However, the best part was that when I finished reading this captivating article I strolled down to our Foundation office and approached my colleague Geannine Callaghan about how Towson University could get involved in such a worthwhile scholarship program. I couldn’t believe what Geannine was telling me; this year WE were being awarded a $1 Million grant to endow the Towson University Bernard Osher Reentry Scholarship Program! Not only did I have no idea that we received this amazing grant, but that we have been receiving similar, smaller grants for these scholarships since 2007.

Scholarship Recipient Adania Godwin Photo Credit: University of Missouri-Kansas City

Mr. Osher is an incredibly generous philanthropist who formed the Osher Foundation in 1977 and has focused his funding on higher-education reentry programs, integrative medicine, and lifelong learning. According to the Osher Foundation website, the scholarship can be awarded to students who

  • have experienced a cumulative gap in their education of five or more years;
  • are at the undergraduate level and pursuing their first baccalaureate degree;
  • anticipate workforce participation for a significant period of time subsequent to graduation and ideally be aged 25-50 years;
  • demonstrate financial need;
  • show academic promise and a commitment to obtaining their degree.

We are so lucky to have foundations and people like Bernard Osher to support such worthwhile programs that are focused on helping motivated students get their education back on track.  I look forward to helping spread the message that TU has this resource available and doing anything I can to help these students succeed.

Towson University is home to another Bernard Osher program, the Towson University Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), which provides opportunities for continued learning along with programs and activities for social and cultural enrichment to community members 50 and over.  With over 500 members, Osher is a vibrant part of Towson University and the greater Baltimore metropolitan community.

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Posted by Bobbie Laur

TU Forensic Students get Real World Experience & provide Real World Answers!

June 2, 2010

Bobbie

Our students are always doing incredible things, but I recently I came across a story about our Forensic Science students that really blew me away!

A few weeks ago, 34 Towson Students along with Professor Dana Kollman and Mark Profili, Director of Towson University’s Forensic Science Program, traveled to Cuttingsville, Vermont in hopes of helping  the Hogan family get the answers they have been longing for since their son went missing 5 years ago.  The local police had called off the search in November, when a local hunter found the skull of William “Mike” Hogan and dental records confirmed his identity.

Photo Credit: Rutland Herald

The students picked up where the police left off, and during their search found Mr. Hogan’s pants, keys, and more than a dozen bones.  The father of Mr. Hogan could not have been more appreciative of the students stating, “Anybody who thinks today’s youth is in trouble or our future is in trouble, should have been with me this week, they were fabulous….what a group, what a good group.”

While, I can only imagine what an emotional experience this must have been for the students (they worked side-by-side with the father) I also am sure this is something they’ll never forget.

Read the article published by the Rutland Herald “Searching for the unknown.”

View the WBAL-TV Story

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Posted by Bobbie Laur

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