The Telling Project Gives Military Veterans a Voice

April 20, 2011

Lindsey

Statistics show that someone in your family, or close to your family, has served or is currently serving in the U.S. Military. I was lucky enough to grow up with two grandfathers and two Uncles who were Veterans, providing me with stories that changed their lives during their time in service. But what about the Veterans who don’t get to tell their story? The Telling Project gives them their chance.

On May 6 & 7, Towson University will host “Telling: Baltimore, MD”, featuring Baltimore area veterans and family members on stage performing a play composed from their own stories of life and the military.

Baltimore is the most recent location for the series of innovative performances that have been appearing in cities across the US over the last three years.  To bring this initiative to  Towson University’s campus, Patrick Young, Director of the Towson University Veterans Center, has been working with Baltimore’s 6th Branch and Veteran Artist Program, and the Texas-based Telling Project over the past six months to interview, script, train and rehearse.

“The Telling Project provides a unique opportunity for Baltimore area military veterans and their family members to speak, and their communities to listen,” states Young, “Once we saw the success of the program over the past three years, we knew Towson University would be an ideal host for such an impactful event, and we are proud to host it to honor the Veterans across the Baltimore region.”

Towson University’s Veterans Center is located on campus to offer resources and support to veterans in the region. Although the Center is working everyday to support these individuals, the need for support of the center persists. If you would like to learn more about opportunities to support your troops once they have returned home, contact Sarah Wainio, swainio@towson.edu or call 410-704-4249.



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Posted by Lindsey Meyer

Business Plan Competition: Meet The Judges!

April 5, 2011

Clay

We are only a few weeks away from the final round of TowsonGlobal’s first Business Plan Competition.  On April 11, finalists will make oral presentations in front of a panel of judges, who will then select the winner.  The judges, many of them Towson University alums with entrepreneurial backgrounds, have diverse expertise in a variety of industries, ranging from advertising to commercial lending and information technology.

So let’s meet them:

CallahanMr. Ed Callahan, Creative Strategist & Co-Founder, Planit
Edward Callahan is the creative leader and cofounder of Planit.  With more than 15 years of industry experience, he has worked with clients including CitiFinancial, Crayola, Under Armour, National Geographic, and a variety of other local, regional, and national brands. Recognized by the Baltimore Business Journal as one of “40 under 40” rising stars.  Mr. Callahan is a graduate of Towson University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in visual communications.

Mr. Larry Fiorino, CEO & President, G.1440
Mr. Fiorino has over 20 years of experience in the information technology industry.  He was named in the Baltimore Business Journals “40 under 40″ listing and serves on numerous boards including the Emerging Technology Centers, and Towson University’s College of Business and Economics. He also sits on the University of Baltimore’s Entrepreneurship Board.  Mr. Fiorino is a graduate of Towson University, with a Bachelors degree in Accounting, has an MBA from Loyola College and is a CPA in Maryland.

Mr. Jack Lewin, Vice President, M&T Bank, Commercial Banking
Mr. Lewin is a senior relationship manager for commercial lending at M&T Bank in Baltimore, where he manages approximately $400MM in bank exposure to commercial companies.  He serves as a director of The Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO).  Mr. Lewin also serves as on the board of TowsonGlobal Business Incubator. He received his MBA from University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, and received his BA cum laude with distinction from The Colorado College.

ParedesMs. Lissell Paredes, B.A. in International Business, Towson University (July 2010)
Lissell Paredes is a recent graduate of Towson University, with a Bachelor of Science in International Business, received in July 2010. She currently serves as a Junior Research Assistant at Towson University’s Regional Economic Studies Institute assisting with marketing and research activities. During her studies, she started as a marketing and research intern at TowsonGlobal Business Incubator, where she conducted market analysis for its member companies. She also attended Universidad Del Pacifico in Peru, where she was an economics major, before transferring to the United States to pursue a business degree.

ParekhMr. Eric Parekh, Vice President, Evergreen Advisors, LLC
Mr. Parekh is a Vice President in the Mergers and Acquisitions practice of Evergreen Advisors.  He has a diverse background in middle market investment banking and brings a breadth of transactional experience to the practice.  Mr. Parekh has an MTS from Urshan Graduate School of Theology in St Louis, Missouri, and a BS in Economics from Texas A&M University.  He is actively pursuing an MBA with a concentration in accounting at Loyola University in Maryland. Mr. Parekh holds his Uniform Combined State Law Series 66 and his Series 7 General Securities Representative Licenses.  He serves on the board of the Towson Global Business Incubator.

Mr. Vince Talbert, Vice President of Merchant Services, PayPal – eBay, Inc.
Mr. Talbert has 20 years of marketing, Internet and credit card experience. Currently, he is the VP of Merchant Marketing at PayPal, an eBay company.  He joined eBay through the acquisition of Bill Me Later, Inc. where he was the VP of Marketing.  Bill Me Later was acquired by eBay for $1 billion. As a founding member and member of the executive team, Mr. Talbert was a key participant in the fund raising activities of the company which raised over $300 million in private equity. He earned his MBA from The Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia and his BS in Economics and Finance from Towson University.

TowsonGlobal launched the Business Plan Competition precisely because our purpose is to strengthen long-lasting entrepreneurial spirit and to support innovation across the Greater Baltimore Region that ultimately create a more vibrant economy.  The panel of judges for this first competition embodies that vision by providing today’s innovators with real and useful feedback from successful entrepreneurs and other experienced business people.

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Posted by Clay Hickson

Orioles Opening Day: What’s the Economic Impact of Baseball in Baltimore?

March 31, 2011

Daraius

As spring begins, the smell of pine tar, the crack of the bat, the thump of a well-caught ball and the whoosh of ball thrown on a rope will be filling the air.  Orioles Opening day is just around the corner.  Prognosticators fill the airwaves with their picks and pans for the upcoming season.  Which teams will make it to the World Series and which new hot prospect will get a call to the big show are questions many excited fans are asking themselves.  While these questions have usually been decided to a degree by September and in many cases are a disappointment to most fans, hope springs eternal on opening day.  Ahead lies 162 ball games and every team has a chance to get to the World Series.

Outside of the feeling of “anything is possible this season” or “dream the impossible dream”, what does opening day mean for Baltimore in terms of dollars and cents? There are several ways to illustrate the economic impact of opening day in Baltimore.  Drawing upon some of my own past research as well as work that Towson University completed on behalf of the Maryland Stadium Authority, there are several interesting findings.

In one of my papers, I examined the cost-benefits of a baseball stadium to a city.  Obviously, a winning team will attract more fans and attendance will go up.  Based upon my research, I found that

if a team increases its current year’s winning percentage by 10%,
attendance would rise by approximately 9.6%.

If the team had a strong finish in the prior season, then that will also influence the current year’s attendance, but its impact on attendance is less than half of the current year’s winning percentage.  While I did not explicitly examine an opening day effect on attendance, I suspect that since the season is a blank canvas and fans are full of hope, outside of playoff games, opening day attendance is likely to be among the highest in a team’s season.

Photo Credit: MLB - Oriole Park @ Camden Yards

In a recent Towson University study, the economic impact of the Orioles was estimated in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment and taxes.  Over the entire season, the estimated impact of attendance at Camden Yards on Maryland’s GDP is approximately $175 million, while an estimated 2,500 annual FTE jobs are supported and over $18 million in state and local taxes are generated.  Based upon these data and the Orioles’ 2010 Opening day attendance (48,891), the impact of Opening Day on Maryland’s economy is estimated to be 50 annual FTE jobs, $3.3 million in GDP and about $350K in state and local taxes.  However, this does not include the lost productivity due to the spike in absenteeism on Opening Day.  So as they say, “Play ball!”

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Posted by Daraius Irani

Cyber Security, STEM Education Partnerships, Great Networking, and more!

March 28, 2011

Bobbie

With just over three weeks to go before the 4th annual Solutions Showcase on April 13th I wanted to share a couple of the event’s highlights with our readers.

First, our Exhibitors! This year we are so excited to have 15 exhibitors representing Towson’s most exciting research and educational programs in the area of technology, STEM, and community outreach.  Here are just a few:

Adolescent and Adult Language and Literacy Clinic (ALL)

  • Provides spoken and written language assessments to adolescents and adults struggling with speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
  • Offers intervention services to individuals with spoken and written language disorders including dyslexia
  • Provides a unique professional preparation opportunity for graduate students training to become speech-language pathologists

Center for Applied IT & MAISA

  • Cyber security consulting and seminars
  • External graduate assistantship program for business
  • Research partnerships in information assurance and applied IT

Bioscience Education and Outreach Program

  • Field-trip destination, providing hands-on, inquiry based bioscience lab activities to Maryland’s secondary science students
  • Providing a variety of professional development opportunities to teachers throughout Maryland
  • Equipment loan program to assist Maryland educator’s in delivering high quality, hands-on bioscience laboratory activities in their own classroom

Showcase 2010 Exhibitors

Second, our Speakers! This year the Showcase will feature two fantastic keynote speakers.  Ms. Kathleen Oliver, Assistant State Superintendent for Maryland, responsible for Career Technology and College Readiness, will highlight educational and outreach programs that are focused on regional workforce needs and provide opportunities for business, government, and education to work together to meet those needs. Mr. Dickie George, Senior Technical Director for Information Assurance with the NSA, will discuss the changes in Information Assurance in the last forty years, what the challenge is, how the cyber cold war compares to the cold war of the 1960’s, what skills are sought after in new hires, and opportunities at the Agency.

This free event is the best opportunity for business, education, and government partners interested in working with Towson University faculty, researchers, and professional outreach centers to meet the right people and identify opportunities for collaboration!

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Posted by Bobbie Laur

Meeting Albert Einstein: My experience at Saturday Morning Science

March 21, 2011

Lindsey

9:30 a.m. on a Saturday. The sky is gray, it’s a bit cloudy, and Towson University’s campus is filled with over 100 children, parents, and grandparents eagerly walking toward Smith Hall. Saturday Morning Science is about to begin.

Out front of Smith Hall Theatre is a delicious assortment of donuts, coffee, and juice to make anyone a morning person. Behind the tables are students from Towson University’s MB3 Club, who volunteer each week to set up and interact with community members. On the opposite side of the room are free books provided for kids of all ages.

Inside, before the show begins, I had the chance to meet a few community members who came to the show. Kierston, an 8 year old, and her Mother, have attended three sessions of Saturday Morning Science so far. Kierston wants to be an engineer, and finds Saturday Morning Science to be fun and entertaining. Daniel, a 12 year old, has only missed two out of 40 Saturday Morning Science sessions. His mother and grandmother stated that he is so dedicated, that he volunteers each week. When asked what keeps them coming, the answer was easy: “Dr. Thomas himself.” Dr. Donald Thomas is Towson University’s ‘Resident Astronaut’ and Director of the Willard Hackerman Academy. All morning I watched him enthusiastically interact with members of the audience, and it was easy to see that he has developed a great rapport with a number of them.

Before the show, I was lucky enough to meet the man himself, Albert Einstein. I found Mr. Einstein to be very outgoing, and of course, extremely intelligent. He began the show with energy, fun, and lots of audience interaction, themes which carried on throughout his presentation. While he talked about complex topics such as Physics and the Theory of Relativity, he made everything easy to understand and a great experience to learn. My favorite thing about the show was his singing and dancing, making difficult topics engaging and easy to remember. He encouraged learning and imagination, and while talking about his life, stated “I was not successful because I had more knowledge than anyone else; I was successful because I imagined.”

Following the show, families were encouraged to stay for “Hands on Science” where they got to choose from a variety of fun activities, including waves and motion. It was a great start to a Saturday.

I highly recommend Saturday Morning Science to kids and families of all ages. No matter your age, you will come away with a smile on your face and a new appreciation for science. Make sure to arrive early to secure a good seat as the program is very popular, and enjoy great refreshments before the show!

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Posted by Lindsey Meyer

Hearing is Believing—TU receives TEDCO grant!

March 17, 2011

Dawn

I have a confession to make.  Now, don’t get too excited, it is not one of my deep dark secrets; it’s just a common annoyance that I feel the need to share.  Here it is: I hate those CAPTCHA things. You may not know the name CAPTCHA, but you know what I am talking about, those distorted alpha-numeric blocks that you have to manually enter in order to gain access to a web page or purchase concert tickets online.  Yes, I understand they are for my own protection, but it always takes me multiple times to enter one correctly because I just can’t see them clearly. Whenever I start to get irritated upon entering a CAPTCHA for the umpteenth time, I try to take a cleansing breath and think that if this is hard for me, it must be nearly impossible for someone with vision impairment.  Thankfully, Dr. Jonathan Lazar of Towson University decided to do something about that.


Using recognizable sounds instead of the common visual CAPTCHA, Dr. Lazar, along with Tim Brooks and Gena Melamed of Information Systems Solutions (ISS) and other students and faculty from Towson, are working on a new technology called SoundRight audio.  Audio CAPTCHA technology does exist; however, in its current state it produces very low success rates for blind users. TU’s new technology will provide blind and vision impaired people with the same time access to websites as everyone else, through the use of common sounds. Based on the English language, SoundRight audio relies on simple sound clips such as bells, barking dogs and running water, etc. The sounds being chosen for SoundRight are designed to be recognizable by a greater number of people, because they are sounds that cross different cultures and backgrounds.

The work being done here to further develop and patent this new technology is gaining attention from outside the University as well. The Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) awarded the Towson team with a $50,000 grant to further develop this new technology. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said “We are pleased that Towson University has received this grant and is actively working on a CAPTCHA substitute that does not rely on alternative accommodations.  TU’s SoundRight initiative will provide the blind with equal access to websites that utilize CAPTCHAs . . .”  This new technology is a great representation of using the resources of the university to solve a real problem facing our citizens.  Providing tools to allow the blind and visually impaired to more easily access the web is a much needed advancement, I just hope they let me use SoundRight too.

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Posted by Dawn Bott

There’s More than Books in Cook

March 9, 2011

Lindsey

I have to admit, I was never much of a reader. I’d always opt to see the movie instead of reading the book, or go shopping instead of studying for tests. Once I began my graduate program at Towson University, however, my perspective changed as I stepped into Albert S. Cook Library. The library quickly became my friend, family, and primary source of sanity as I completed my Master’s thesis.

As a staff member, I have been privileged enough to learn about and experience first-hand the great community outreach that Cook Library takes pride in on a regular basis. Last week, I attended the opening reception for “Pride and Passion: The African-American Baseball Experience”, a traveling exhibition which examines the challenges faced by African-American baseball players as they sought equal opportunities in baseball beginning in the post-Civil War era.

Walking into the exhibition, I was enthusiastically greeted by Joyce Garczynski, Communications and Development Librarian. Joyce’s smile was contagious, and she stated “Cook Library is very much about community, we want to be known as the information center for Towson University students. faculty/staff, and the community.” She also filled me in with some of the fun, community friendly activities and services that Cook Library plans throughout the year:

  • Community Borrowing Program- Did you know that as a community member, you can borrow books from Cook Library for free, including ones from the children’s collection?
  • Monthly jazz series- Every month, Cook Library brings a jazz ensemble to perform, based around a theme
  • Book discussions- Each month Cook hosts a book discussion related to an on campus event. March’s book is “The Woman Behind the Curveball”, to coincide with a lecture by author Dr. Martha Ackmann
  • Many more! Check out TU in the Community events and Towson University’s Arts & Culture events calendar to stay updated

On any given day in Cook Library, there are students, staff, faculty, and community members enjoying the wonderful resources that the library has to offer. There’s even a Starbucks inside of Cook Library, making it an ideal spot for that much needed 2pm coffee break!

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Posted by Lindsey Meyer

Guest Blogger: Three Things Mike Schroder Can’t Live Without

February 17, 2011

Mike Schroder

Three things, wow, that is tough…besides the basics for life (water, food, family, friends) I had to think deep and hard.  Well maybe not that deep, since it only took about 60 seconds to come up with:

Mobile Devices – Droid and iPad
It is hard to believe just a short time ago we operated with paper calendars. I don’t know where I would be without my mobile devices. Actually I do – I would be lost!  The calendar feature is something I rely on daily to know where I need to be and what needs to be done such as reports and budgets. Even tracking basics like am I picking up the kids today or is my wife and when is our next date night.  In today’s multi-function/multi-task work environment, these devices have truly become essential for me. From using these devices as my computer substitute when traveling to recording notes at a meeting so you don’t have transcribe notes when you get office time.

The Team: Extended Education – Osher Institute – CISCO Academy
A wise man once told me that one of the best things a person can do is to surround themselves with good people.  I follow this advise wholeheartedly.  I consider myself extremely fortunate to be surrounded by the present and past team (several have moved on due to promotions and graduations) .  Extended Education and Online Learning, the institutes and academies in the unit have blossomed, prospered and helped to fulfill the TU mission for outreach and lifelong learning in the community, region and nation because of the people I am blessed with on a daily basis. A special thanks to the team (past and present) for making a difference and “doing it right” for “One Towson”!

Sports – I am not a coffee drinker – sports are my caffeine
I learned from my parents that a person can easily get used to just 5 hours of sleep a day and the importance of work and life balance.  That gives 19 hours a day for work, family, friends, spirituality and sports!   Sports are my morning coffee and my evening night-cap.  I enjoy watching, visiting and cheering on many sports – especially the Towson Tigers (Women’s and Men’s basketball, Football, Baseball, etc.), Orioles, Capitals, Ravens and Redskins, Virginia Tech Hokies and many more. I especially love playing soccer, golf and a good game of catch with my kids Caleb and Abigail. And soon coaching will help keep my life in balance.  Some people need yoga or meditation; I just need my daily fix of sports in almost any form.

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Posted by Guest Blogger

Community Art Center warms hearts with art this winter!

December 7, 2010

Lindsey

Snow.Ice.Cabin fever. Winter fights to keep us in our homes. Towson University’s Community Art Center (CAC) is braving the elements to cure you of cabin fever by offering fun and unique art classes during winter 2011.

According to the CAC website, “The Center encourages individual expression while teaching new skills, ideas and techniques. Small class sizes give individual attention while encouraging students to work on different ability and developmental levels. Courses range from drawing, painting and sculpture to computer graphics and animation. The CAC offers classes for children, teens and adults.”

Top: Young Artist Workshop Student Bottom:Ruth Pettus self-portrait

While writing this blog post, I had the pleasure of speaking to Bonnie Reynolds, Director of the Community Art Center, who filled me in with some of the exciting courses planned for this winter:

  • For Young Kids (Ages 5-7): The Young Artist Workshop encourages creative thinking through a variety of mediums. Ms. Reynolds emphasized that this is one of the CAC’s most popular classes, so register early as spaces fill quickly
  • For Teens (Ages 12-18): The Animation and Game Design courses allows students to express their creativity in a 21st century way
  • For Adults (Ages 17-Adult): The Adult Art Studio with Ruth Pettus gives students a fantastic opportunity to learn from an internationally renowned artist

Of course, the CAC offers even more art classes this winter and throughout the year including: Drawing and Design, Cartooning, Potter’s Wheel, and more. Check out the CAC website today for a complete listing.

Ms. Reynolds’ passion and genuine love of both the arts and people came through on the phone. According to her, “The arts open up wonderful ways to look at the world.” She hopes anyone interested will contact her for more information and to register for classes. Talking to Ms. Reynolds inspired me to get in touch with my artistic side this winter; of course the hard part will be deciding which class to take!

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Posted by Lindsey Meyer

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