Towson has named its arena, and President Timothy Chandler stated at the ceremony:"When it came to naming this arena, we were selective about who we were willing to put atop our building and link arms with. We knew we wanted a true community partner–but not in name only. We wanted a partner in action, with shared focus and value in serving the community. SECU has a record and reputation for community involvement, scholastic and financial education, and support of many organizations and causes that precede its relationship with Towson. And we took note." SECU is the State Employees Credit Union.
Imagining America is a national consortium helping to reshape higher education's contributions to democracy by enabling scholars and artists to "thrive and contribute to community action and revitalization." In October 2015, Imagining America will meet in Baltimore and UMBC.
The University of Maryland University College's cyberdefense team, the Cyber Padawans (a reference to the Jedi knights in training in Star Wars) won first place in the Global CyberLympics, an international competition held in Barcelona, Spain.
Town and gown coordinating: The College Park City University Partnership is under new direction with former County Councilmember Eric Olson at the helm. They have also published their annual report. University President Dr. Wallace Loh has been appointed Chair of College Park Academy while former Howard County executive Ken Ulman has been tapped to bring more businesses and investors to the region.
Hopefully, the partnership will – among many opportunities – find ways to reduce the crime; College Park ranks third with 371 reported crimes including 105 for motor vehicle theft.
Dr. Davidson joins the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science's Appalachian Laboratory as its new director in the new year. An ecologist, soil scientist, and biogeochemist, Davidson was formerly Executive Director of the Woods Hole Research Center in Massachusetts, where he had worked as a scientist since 1991.
The Appalachian Laboratory, one of four University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) laboratories located across the state, is dedicated to the study of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. Dr. Davidson will lead a cadre of more than 30 faculty, research associates, staff, and post-doctoral fellows working to better understand the environment.
Towson University President Maravene Loeschke '69/'71 announced in December that she was resigning her position effective 19 December 2014 due to her poor health. The university announced in April that Dr. Loeschke had been diagnosed with adrenal cancer; she has been on leave since late August.
Baltimore Sun (26 December 2014): "President Loeschke was Towson's best president, and this is particularly impressive in view of the consistent excellence of her predecessors. Towson's growth and flourishing has been due in large part to the truly excellent presidents and provosts Towson has had in the last four decades.
The President of UMCP apparently has some spare time, and so he has agreed to chair the charter school College Park Academy.