Towson University President Maravene Loeschke ’69/’71 announced today that she is resigning her position, effective Friday, December 19, 2014, due to her health. Towson University announced in April that Dr. Loeschke had been diagnosed with adrenal cancer; she has been on leave since late August. Below is a letter from Dr. Loeschke, followed by a letter to the Towson University community from Chancellor William E. “Brit” Kirwan.
____________________________________________________________________________
December 18, 2014
Dr. Maravene Loeschke ’69/’71
It is the deepest sadness of my life that I find I must resign as President of Towson University because of my health. I was to return in January to continue guiding our goals and vision, but my health will not allow me to give Towson the 100% of my attention that it deserves, which any University deserves from its President.
Dr. Timothy Chandler has done a remarkable job as acting President. He and the President’s Council have kept us on mission and vision with great expertise. Acting Provost, Dr. Maggie Reitz, has done an extraordinary job doing the same with academic affairs. The Deans and Chairs were at the center of the semester’s work with their flexibility and dedication to keeping our students’ education undisturbed.
And dear students; it is impossible for me to express adequately how much you and your success mean to me and how much I will miss you.
We all know how important our staff is to every success we have for our students. Once again they have stepped up and been a part of the team that kept the semester smooth and exhilarating.
Any day I have spent at Towson as a student, faculty, chairperson, Dean, and President has been a precious gift and I shall be forever grateful for the opportunity to serve you all.
Thank you all for making it possible for me to attempt to fight this disease that so many of us are addressing.
With Love, gratitude, and respect,
Maravene Loeschke
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
December 18, 2014
Friends and Colleagues:
It is with a heavy heart that I write to inform the Towson University (TU) family that TU President Maravene Loeschke will be resigning her position due to health reasons effective tomorrow, Friday, December 19th.
As we all know, Maravene’s connection to Towson and the TU community runs incredibly deep. After obtaining both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Towson, she spent more than three decades at TU as an educator, administrator, dean, and the past three years as president. And her tenure as President, while brief, will nevertheless have a lasting impact on her beloved institution in terms of educational quality, regional impact, and community service. Her departure will be a significant loss for Towson, the University System of Maryland, and the state.
I have appointed Dr. Timothy Chandler—who has been serving as TU’s Acting President the past several months—as Towson University’s Interim President. Sometime this spring, in consultation with chancellor-designate Bob Caret, I will appoint a search committee to launch the process of identifying TU’s next leader.
Once again, I regret having to bring such sad news. I know I speak for the entire TU community when I say our thoughts and prayers are with Maravene and her family and friends and our deepest appreciation goes out to her for her exceptional leadership of this venerable institution.
Sincerely yours,
William E. Kirwan
Chancellor
