Merriam-Webster defines commencement as both the beginning and the end. But with over 3,500 graduates finishing their degrees and receiving their diplomas during the past three days, we prefer to look ahead to their bright futures and our anniversary celebration.
Students enjoying the Legacy Walk dedication party.
On Monday, May 18, Interim President Timothy Chandler, along with the 150th anniversary steering committee co-chairs Myrna Cardin and Gerry Gaeng, dedicated the Legacy Walk, a brick walkway that spans from West Village into the academic district of campus and features the five historic seals of the university—from its early days as the State Normal School to today—inlaid in the brick.
Later that evening, the committee hosted a champagne toast to our graduates in SECU Arena before a group of nearly 50 students and staff boarded a bus very, very early Tuesday morning to drive to New York City and stand outside “Good Morning America” and “The Today Show.” Our students took selfies with Al Roker and met Robin Roberts on the set of GMA to show the world their pride in TU and its long and storied history.
Look back at the spring 2015 Commencement [VIDEO]
Spring graduation began at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, with graduates from the Jess & Mildred Fisher College of Science and Mathematics walking across the stage first. After a short break for photos with the tiger statue and lunch for the ceremony volunteers, graduates from the College of Liberal Arts took their turn in SECU Arena.
The highlight of the entire ceremony was the reunion of Jackie Miller ’15, B.A. English, and Ted Sutton, who is earning his second Ph.D. Nineteen years ago Sutton pulled Miller, a total stranger to him, from a house fire in Baltimore City. That event turned around Sutton’s life; he was on “the wrong track” until then.
Jackie Miller received her degree and sat beside Ted Sutton, the man who pulled her from a house fire 19 years ago.
Foul weather couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm on Thursday as Towson’s College of Education – the state’s largest producer of teachers – graduated its newest class with a nod to one that celebrated its 50th reunion this week. The Class of 1965 sat front row as 2015 Maryland Teacher of the Year Jody Zepp exhorted her audience to put their whole hearts into their work, calling teachers “the best app students will have in the classroom.”
That afternoon, students from the College of Fine Arts and Communication took their seats on the floor of SECU Arena and waited patiently to receive their diplomas and move their tassels from right to left. Who knows; among the Class of 2015 could be the next Amy Schumer, John Glover, Brandon Broady or Seth Adelsberger.
After the rain the day before, Friday brought plenty of sunshine and excitement as the College of Health Professions graduated the newest class of health educators health care managers, care givers and even a few doctors (of audiology). The SECU Arena lobby was full of cheers and a few tears, as the college that enrolls more bachelor’s and master’s health care and sport-related students in Maryland sent another talented class into the world.
The College of Business and Economics closed the 2015 spring commencement proceedings with a shimmy (across the stage) as the last college at TU to confer degrees on its graduates this week. Many future CPAs, CFAs, MBAs, and a whole host of other acronyms joined the ranks of the now over 146,000 Towson alumni – a storied group that began way back in 1866 with just 16 individuals.
