2024 Year in Review

January - One of TU’s most popular Tigers is a playful, adorable dog who is trained to provide comfort to members of the university community — one belly scratch at a time.

Meet Bruno, the 1-year-old chocolate lab who arrived on campus in January, after a 2023 Big Give donor established a fund to bring a comfort dog on campus, provide training and pay for his care.

Bruno spent the first few months of his life studying for his new role while living with his handler, public safety patrol officer Sgt. Jafar Taru, and his family. In fact, Taru’s daughter suggested the pup’s name — which the TU community agreed with, overwhelmingly supporting it in a naming contest.

March - The Berman Center opened as TU’s new hub for humanity and tolerance in the College of Liberal Arts. As the only Holocaust education center in Maryland, it will serve as a principal ambassador and liaison to the community and other organizations, providing quality resources and programming related to Holocaust education and overall humanity and tolerance.

April - Towson University’s StarTUp Accelerator welcomed its sixth cohort of entrepreneurs, featuring 16 ventures spanning industries like green technology, healthcare and consumer goods. This program offers an eight-week fellowship providing resources, mentorship and funding. Selected participants include innovators such as medical professionals, a former NFL player, and student-led ventures, supported by sponsors like MedStar Health and the Maryland Department of Veteran Affairs. This initiative aims to foster regional innovation and economic growth.

May - In one of the most dominant tournament performances in league history, the No. 15 and 1-seed Towson University men's lacrosse team crushed No. 19 and 2-seed Delaware 15-6 to win the 2024 Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Tournament title, the ninth in program history. Towson's nine-goal win is the largest margin of victory ever in a CAA title game. 

June – Towson University broke ground on the Smith Hall renovation, which is updating the building to house the College of Fine Arts & Communication’s mass communication, communication studies and electronic media and film programs.

When it reopens in fall 2027, the 200,00-square foot building will boast a 250-seat cinema and black box performance space where students can screen films and showcase performative research, a two-story newsroom with anchor desks, monitors and a green screen to prepare students for future careers in print and digital journalism, and sustainable elements including TU’s first geothermal well.  

 

July - Towson University established the Maryland Center for Community Schools (MCCS) within its College of Education. The initiative supports Maryland’s growing network of community schools by providing training, research and professional development to address barriers to student success. Funded by the state, MCCS aligns with the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, expanding equitable education and holistic support for students and families. 

August - Jacob Damrow’s journey at Towson University began with violin performance but evolved into a passion for environmental science. Switching majors led him to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees and win a prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. The accomplishment is enabling him to pursue a Ph.D. in environmental engineering at the University of Southern California, where he’s researching ways to improve the safety of drinking water and processed foods. 

Ashley Hajimirsadeghi and Jamal Washington, both TU standouts, exemplify the power of ambition and community support in achieving extraordinary milestones. Hajimirsadeghi earned a prestigious “Triple Crown” of fellowships, including a Fulbright, excelling in global humanities and ethnographic poetry. Meanwhile, Washington became TU’s first Payne Fellow, pursuing international development through graduate studies and diplomacy, driven by his campus leadership and professional impact. Both credit Towson’s Office of Competitive Fellowships and Awards and dedicated mentors for helping them break barriers and inspire others to dream big.

September -  TU's Cyber4All Center received a $1.8M grant from the National Security Agency (NSA) to pioneer innovative solutions in cybersecurity education and support all cybersecurity curriculum efforts for the Centers of Academic Excellence (NCAE-C) institutions community and beyond.

September - This year, TU continued to garner top rankings — named the best public university in Maryland and the No. 15 public university in the country, according to the Wall Street Journal. The publication’s 2025 Best Colleges in the U.S. rankings heavily featured TU for its record of inclusive student success.  

The university also received national recognition when the U.S. News & World Report named TU the No. 5 public undergraduate university in the north and No. 15 overall, up six spots from the 2024 rankings. 

September - TU celebrated the grand opening of the new facility, which brings nearly all of the College of Health Professions (CHP) programs together under one roof. CHP programs include the state’s first accredited occupational therapy program and Maryland’s second-largest baccalaureate nursing program.

The addition strengthened the college’s dedication to excellence in health and wellness education, opening about a year after the relocation of the college’s Institute for Well-Being.

 

October - TU’s College of Education received a more than $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education under the Teacher Quality Partnership program.

The grant seeks to enhance the quality of Maryland’s teacher pipeline, university teacher preparation programs and teacher induction programs, thereby improving the academic achievement of students in grades pre-K through 6 in two local counties: Montgomery County and Baltimore County.

November - To lead TU into its next great era, President Ginsberg and his administration announced 10 priorities focused on assuring TU is a caring community, promoting the success of every Tiger and strengthening the state of Maryland. The priorities are directly aligned with TU’s strategic plan and informed by community input over the last year.