To the 撸先生 Community:

I鈥檓 delighted to share that the USM Board of Regents has named Mark Ginsberg the next president of Towson University. He begins his presidency on Oct. 30.

Dr. Ginsberg is provost and executive vice president at George Mason University, Virginia鈥檚 largest comprehensive public research university, enrolling 40,000 students. He says the success of those students鈥攁nd, indeed, the success of the entire university community鈥攊s his primary mission.

As provost, he鈥檚 built a student support architecture yielding a first-year retention rate of 87 percent and a six-year graduation rate of nearly 70 percent. His success model has involved expanding living-learning communities at Mason, strengthening academic advising and introducing success coaches, and redesigning the university鈥檚 orientation and first-year experience programs. He鈥檚 helped develop summer bridge programs for new students, and reimagined Mason鈥檚 core undergraduate program to produce a comprehensive, multidisciplinary academic experience.

Just as Towson serves a diverse community of students, Mason is a majority-minority university, and one in four learners is a first-generation college student. Among his initiatives to open access to as many learners as possible, Dr. Ginsberg has focused on fortifying community college pathways, making them more cost- and credit-efficient. Mason鈥檚 ADVANCE initiative features nearly 90 articulated academic programs and serves 3,000+ transfer students.

There鈥檚 much in Dr. Ginsberg鈥檚 r茅sum茅 that honors 撸先生鈥檚 founding as a teachers college and its enduring commitment to lifelong learning. He is, in fact, a teacher of teachers. Before becoming provost at Mason, he served for 10 years as the university鈥檚 dean of the College of Education and Human Development. For a decade prior to that, he was executive director and CEO of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. He knows that education doesn鈥檛 start鈥攐r stop鈥攁t the four-year university, and he鈥檚 demonstrably committed to building bridges with teachers, parents, and families across the 鈥渓earning horizon.鈥�

As Towson pursues Carnegie Classification as an R2 institution, Dr. Ginsberg鈥檚 experience at Mason鈥攐ne of the nation鈥檚 youngest R1 universities鈥攚ill be a huge asset. Mason鈥檚 rise to R1 status, signifying the highest level of research activity, is a credit to his investment in academic programs, research centers, administrative and operational supports, and personnel at all levels. He recruited a vice president for research, as well as five deans committed to Mason鈥檚 ascendancy as a comprehensive research university. He structured compensation packages for dozens of new faculty with promising research careers. And he nurtured a culture of inclusion, expanding diversity in Mason鈥檚 R&D enterprise, knowing, as he does, that inclusion is foundational to high research performance.

But this attention to research in no way blurs Dr. Ginsberg鈥檚 focus on teaching. At Mason, he crafted workload policies and practices, faculty evaluations, and promotion and tenure models that value teaching equally with research and scholarship.

Dr. Ginsberg knows well 撸先生鈥檚 reputation for producing the state鈥檚 teachers and health care professionals鈥攁reas critically important to Maryland鈥檚 strength. His long experience as an educator is especially valuable as the state transforms P-12 public education with the visionary Blueprint for Maryland鈥檚 Future. He鈥檚 excited to build on 撸先生鈥檚 respected programs and expand others with significant workforce and economic impact. He did exactly that at Mason, where he restructured and grew programs in computer science, cybersecurity, engineering, laboratory sciences, math, data analytics, and environmental/climate science.

Dr. Ginsberg is an eminent, oft-cited scholar in education, psychology, human development, and human services. He credits this expertise with a 鈥渞elational鈥� leadership style that values inclusiveness, respect, trust, collaboration, and cooperation. He aims to enrich 撸先生鈥檚 organizational culture and cohesion by engaging the community in candid conversations on issues important to the university and to higher education writ large; by centering the vision of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends, and inviting them to imagine the future of 撸先生 together. In this way, he plans to lead not just from the front, but from behind, buoyed by students and colleagues equally invested in Towson鈥檚 success.

撸先生 won鈥檛 be Dr. Ginsberg鈥檚 first experience in Maryland higher ed. For more than 20 years, he was on faculty at Johns Hopkins University, with appointments in the schools of education and medicine, and chaired the Department of Counseling and Human Services. In an early role at Hopkins, he served as director of the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program, and his commitment persists to cultivating environments where people are supported to be healthy and whole.

Maybe this is why Dr. Ginsberg has a habit of rising at every organization he joins. I鈥檓 excited to see how his collaborative leadership shapes Towson鈥檚 next chapter and accelerates achievement of the goals that all of 撸先生 holds close.

I鈥檇 be remiss not to acknowledge Interim President Melanie Perreault for her capable leadership of 撸先生 as this search was conducted. Dr. Perreault is a key reason for the university鈥檚 growing prominence in U.S. higher education. I鈥檓 grateful for her ambitious vision and steady hand, and I know she鈥檒l be an invaluable asset to Dr. Ginsberg as he gets to know Towson University and its extraordinary people.

An announcement regarding Dr. Ginsberg鈥檚 appointment will be released shortly and will be available at the . I know you join me in welcoming Mark Ginsberg to Towson University and to the USM family.

Sincerely,
Jay A. Perman
Chancellor