Impact Report 2020-2021

• virtual fitness classes managed through “Beyond Burdick,” a new website for virtual programming focusing on nutrition, fitness, and workout routines (over 1,600 unique users utilized the site)
• created social media challenges like the toilet paper trick shot challenge
• provided quarantine fitness kits
• provided a student mental health and sports psychologist to present at Sport Club Organizations as part of a mental health kickoff series
• developed a Campus Rec mobile app which was downloaded 3,574 times
• collected over 2,200 items for the Food and Toiletry Drive — the largest donation collection to date
• developed and facilitating civil discussion training for student and professional staff to engage in civility conversations for times where parties may disagree

Several record all-time highs and significant impact demonstrated through: 

• 4,959 student participated in workshops 
• 4,013 one-on-one appointments
• 15,199 unique employers posted 52,000 jobs and internships on TU’s student recruitment platform, Handshake (on average, 1000 positions were reviewed and approved each week)
• 650 unique employers were directly engaged in recruitment and career education events
• 15,000 students accessed services at the Career Center
• 63% increase in employer engagement at Career Community Events
• 125 student-athletes attended Student-Athlete Alumni Panels
• 14 employer mock interview days
• 33% increase in users on TU’s financial education platform, CashCourse
• initiated work on TU’s Comprehensive Learner Record (CLR) 
• launched Tiger Mentor Network 
• established TU student access to virtual, paid micro-internships
• created a new educational series focusing on Workplace Values 
• launched new Blackboard course — Intern P.R.O.
• partnered with employers to provide funding for students’ cultural competency professional development

• $1M+ in Emergency Grants Awarded
• 1,591 referral cases — most common referrals
  • academic concerns
  • injuries / illnesses
  • mental health concerns
  • personal concerns
  • financial concerns

• created campus-wide TU Votes Coalition
• 215 participants served 430 hours with 14 organizations for the Big Event
• applied for and was granted FoodShare AmeriCorps VISTA the first Campus Compact Mid Atlantic (CCMA) AmeriCorps VISTA member to work with the TU FoodShare
• hosted the Living Well Series, a monthly series focused on a different wellness related topics
• hosted virtual programs:
  • Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week
  • environmental conversation with Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha discussing her research and water quality and environmental justice
  • Tigers For Change engage with community partners in direct service
  • Lunch and Serve: a monthly program that connected non-profit organizations with students to learn about various ways to serve the community
  • service-learning during COVID-19 panel discussion
  • hosted Solve Climate by 2030: A Maryland Global Dialog, representing the state of Maryland in this national initiative
• Wellspring Group Partnership — CESR worked with BTU, FACET, Advancement, and Sponsored Programs and Research to build and implement a faculty development working group
• awarded and recognized as a Voter Friendly Campuses by NASPA and Fair Election Center’s Campus Vote Project

• provided clinical and outreach services to diverse groups of students, demonstrating the success of intentional efforts to reduce stigma and barriers to care often experienced by students with minoritized identities
• continued to utilize $159,000 in grant funding for education on Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs (ATOD) and awarded an additional $1,000 mini-grant to offer specific education regarding the dangers of misusing prescription medications and a $750 stipend through SAMHSA’s Communities Talk to prevent underage drinking
• continued hosting monthly ATOD webinar series attended by 70 individuals representing 23 institutions, from 8 states
• established a Student Advisory Board to elevate the voices of students regarding campus mental health needs
• hosted the 3rd Annual Summit on Multicultural Issues in Counseling Centers bringing together regional counseling centers
• about 88% of Counseling Center clients reported that their central problem was addressed through their counseling experiences
• created a student-athlete mental health and performance support area, which has received a tremendous, positive response from student athletes
• 55.3% of students who indicated that they were having difficulty staying connected to their academics indicated that their experiences with TUCC helped them to stay more connected to their academic work
• 47% of those who reported that they had considered leaving TU indicated that their experiences with the TUCC helped them decide to stay enrolled
• facilitated 427 outreach events during FY21 along with exponential growth of social media platforms with Instagram currently having 1,347 followers

• led stakeholder conversations which resulted in revising the Outdoor Events Guidelines (PDF)
• held first outdoor Commencement Ceremonies in over 15 years
• provided building operations for the Student Union and West Village Commons
• trained student organization leaders on skills event management skills including planning, hosting, and engaging in large scale events management
• established Academic Program Managers to facilitate student groups meeting space while the Student Union expansion project is being finished

• marquee programs remained intact:
  • Emerging Greek Leaders
  • Executive Leadership Series
  • Social Justice Workshop Series
  • Greek Ambassadors
• embedded a social justice lens with a focus on developing leadership potential through strengths-based leadership and the social change model
• 12% of the undergraduate population are members of Greek Organizations
• all fraternity and sorority GPA was once again higher than the all-undergraduate GPA both terms in FY21
• the all-fraternity GPA was higher than the all-undergraduate male GPA in the spring of 2021 for the first time in four terms
• 80% of our chapters hosted virtual philanthropy events where they raised money for a charitable cause
• 428 educational programs reported in AY 20-21 amongst the chapters
• 1,200 women participated in a fully transitioned virtual Panhellenic Formal Recruitment
• fraternity and sorority chapters led participation in service at TigerTHON and the Big Event

During the fall 2020 term, the department was able to accommodate 159 of students who for a variety of reasons (homeless foster youth, inadequate home learning environment, immunocompromised) needed to continue to live on campus.

• 8,364 meals delivered in quarantine or isolation housing
• 321 students provided quarantine or isolation housing 

Housing and Residence Life continued to provide students in on campus housing a value-added experience despite the limitations put in place by the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Resident Assistants facilitated virtual Tiger Chats to maintain engagement with resident students. 85% of resident students had at 1:1 conversation with their RA during the spring 2021 semester.
• 394 Community Engagement Opportunities were offered

HRL launched several initiatives to provide space for support, processing, and education of staff (including student leaders) regarding DEI including:  

• restorative circles 
• implicit bias training 
• hate/bias response 
• equity tank

What’s Next for HRL

Housing and Residence Life developed a five-year Strategic Plan during the 2020-21 focusing future attention and action on student learning, community and belonging, operational functions, organizational structure, organizational culture, inclusion and equity, and assessment.

• shifted all VA education certifying processes online with 100% accuracy
• in partnership with the Department of Veteran Affairs’ provided mental health counseling, support for life transition challenges, and patient advocacy through the VITAL program
• $14,150 in emergency funds awarded to support student veterans
• 18% increase in social media engagement
• 96% of student veterans reported that they were satisfied with the MVC’s services and support
• Hosted veteran programming including:
  • comedy show
  • trivia night
  • alumni event
  • day of giving
  • “Finding Purpose and Positivity During the Pandemic”

• 1,604 transfer students completed the virtual orientation program
• 2,448 freshmen students participated the virtual orientation sessions
• 2,556 families registered with NSFP and 1,756 participated in the virtual orientation sessions
• 5,790 new families signed up for communications through Campus ESP
• 170 students participated in a fully virtual version of the Transfer Mentor Program with mentors from all university divisions

• 200+ Student Organizations
• raised $15,000 at USM United Virtual Benefit Concert
• facilitated 9 Leadership Lunch Series Events
• 125 programs in fall 2021
• 69 programs in spring 2021
• 100+ students attended Tiger Pride Day
• 100+ students attended Sex in the Dark
• facilitated 49 Tigers Lead Tier One Workshops
• hosted 65+ Weekends @TU Programs
• served 3,670 unique students through asynchronous Weekend Programming via Instagram and 600 through hybrid Weekend Programming
• expanded Tigerfest into three, 8-hour long days, with virtual events that hosted hundreds of students over the course of the week featuring virtual concerts each day as well as other virtual and in-person activities
• trained over 250 student leaders on virtual engagement
• leadership
  • 500+ students attended leadership lunches
  • 369 students participated in Tigers Lead

• created new alternative resolution process
• updated the hazing policy
• adjudicated 1,210 cases
• facilitated workshops and training related to:
  • student appeals
  • restorative practices
  • academic Integrity
  • COVID-19
• 90% of students reported clear understanding of the academic integrity workshop
• 70 appeals were heard by the Student Appeals Committee

• 93% of SAGE participants in good academic standing
• 49% of SAGE students earned Dean’s List honors
• 115 CEEP scholarship recipients
• 8 France Merrick recipients
• established Generation One, a space for first generation students to network, share experiences and become engaged members of the TU community
• established Man 2 Man, a peer program geared toward men of color at Towson University
• selected for the INSIGHT Into Diversity Magazine’s Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award

• established an Americorps VISTA focusing on the TUNE FoodShare Pantry
• produced monthly newsletter for TUNE community
• featured programming:
  • Tiger Pride Day
  • Speed Networking
  • Master Your Online Classes
  • Progressive Muscle Relaxation
  • established student advisory committee

• developed a multi-pronged strategy to provide care to the TU Community
• developed an online system to schedule COVID-19 testing
• developed an effective infection control strategy
• performed over 70,000 COVID-19 tests
• fully staffed a team of medical professionals to facilitate efficient testing

Health Education and Promotion

• Pivoted into virtual learning and continued to reach students through social media, virtual offerings (both events and workshops), and hosting workshops and programs in classrooms and Residence Halls via zoom.
• Adjusted programming to accommodate educational efforts focused on how to prevent the spread of COVID, including a workshop titled “Sex in a Pandemic” that focused on how to prevent the spread of COVID while being intimate to reduce transmission and keep students healthy, and tailor social media content to promote COVID-19 testing efforts on the TU campus.
• Collaborated with the SHAPE committee, ATOD prevention center, Center for Student Diversity, Student Government, Student Activities, and other campus partners to bring five external guest speakers to campus (ZOOM/Webex) to talk about sexual violence prevention and destigmatize healthy sexuality.

University Health Center

• Interdepartmental collaboration with TU-OGC, TU-HR, TU-Athletics, TU-Facilities/Engineering, TU-OTS, TU-ISSO, TU-Faculty Co-Chairs, etc. Externally with supply chain partners, MD-DOH, etc.
• Collaboration with TU-Health Professions to provide learning, observation, and practice opportunities to TU nursing and physician assistant students (ex. FLU and COVID-19 vaccination clinics).
• Implementation of enhanced vaccine and medication cold storage infrastructure and CDC Cold Chain vaccine handling and storage methodology.
• Digital integration and interfacing of Point-of-Care biomedical equipment with current electronic health record to include: blood pressure, pulse oximetry, thermometry, and ECG.
• Partnership with TU Facilities and Engineering in expansion of West Village COVID-19 Testing Center to 50K square feet following ASHRAE guidelines for pandemic air handling with adjustments to 4-season environmental conditions.
• Implementation of leading-edge Point-of-Care rapid molecular testing for COVID-19, FLU, STREP, and RSV in the three integrated domains comprised of primary care, sentinel testing facility, and athletic programs.
• Executing agreement and operationalizing inaugural flu and COVID-19 booster vaccination initiative for TU faculty and staff.  Provision of easy access options across 4 distinct clinic sites to allow for vaccine administration by national partner Albertsons-Safeway Pharmacies.
• Identification, recruitment, and formalization of agreement to hire an exemplary and per-recognized medical director.
• Centralization and improvement of working environment for the COVID-19 Contact Tracing team.
• Purchased and provided ASHRAE guidelines to TU Facilities and Engineering which delineated pandemic air handling guidelines, recommendations, best practices, and up-to-date white papers applicable to the facilities and community at-large at TU.
• Review of local best practice sites (ex., UMB), capital acquisition, staging, training, and implementation of COVID-19 mRNA cold and ultra cold refrigerators and freezer storage systems. Implementation of CDC Cold Chain recommendations for mRNA vaccines including preparation and immunization protocols.
• Implementation of pandemic air handling best practices plan at the UHC, WVTC, and medical trailers to minimize HVAC-facilitated airborne spread and exposure of COVID-19 and other pathogens.  Included the request and receipt of permission by TU leadership to transition to a 24x7 clean air intake and “dirty” air exhausting with the additional halting of air recirculate mode at the UHC.
• Develop partnership with TU Facilities and ABM-EVS to stage daily cleaning and facility disinfection that includes incorporating key elements of “hospital room terminal clean” procedures.  Establish closed-loop feedback communication with TU-Facilities and ABM-EVS including urgent high-priority requests for disinfection in situations of COVID-19 exposures in UHC, WVTC, and medical trailer rooms.  Acquire supply of COVID-19 specific virucide sprays for the UHC team that allows for targeted disinfection during patient “room turns” prior to the ABM-EVS regular service after hours.