List of presidents of Towson University

The following is a list of principals and presidents of Towson University and its predecessor institutions: ^[1]

No.	Image	Chancellor	Term start	Term end	Ref.
Principals of the Maryland State Normal School (1866–1935)
1		McFadden Alexander Newell	1866	1890
2		E. Barrett Prettyman	1890	1905
3		George W. Ward	1905	1909
4		Sarah E. Richmond	1909	1917
5		Henry S. West	1917	1920
6		Lida Lee Tall	1920	1938
Presidents of the Maryland State Teachers College at Towson (1935–1963)
7		M. Theresa Wiedefeld	1938	1947
8		Earle Hawkins	1947	1969
Presidents of the Towson State College (1963–1976)
9		James Fisher	1969	August 31, 1978 [a]
Presidents of the Towson State University (1976–1997)
interim		Joseph Cox	September 1, 1978	June 30, 1979	[2]
10		Hoke L. Smith	July 1, 1979	June 30, 2001	[3] [4]
Presidents of the Towson University (1997–present)
11		Mark L. Perkins	July 1, 2001	April 5, 2002 [b]	[5] [6]
acting		Dan L. Jones	April 5, 2002	May 3, 2002	[7]
interim			May 3, 2002	June 30, 2003	[8]
12		Robert L. Caret	July 1, 2003	April 19, 2011 [c]	[9] [10]
interim		Marsha G. Welsh	April 20, 2011	December 31, 2011	[11]
13		Maravene Loeschke [d]	January 1, 2012	December 19, 2014	[12] [13] [14]
acting [e]		Timothy J. L. Chandler	August 21, 2014	December 19, 2014	[15]
interim			December 19, 2014	January 24, 2016
14		Kim Schatzel	January 25, 2016	January 31, 2023	[16] [17]
interim		Melanie Perreault	February 1, 2023	October 29, 2023	[18]
15		Mark R. Ginsberg	October 30, 2023	Present	[19]

Table notes:

1. Resigned to head the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.
2. Forced to resigned by Board of Trustees due to excessive personal expenditures at state expense.
3. Resigned to lead the University of Massachusetts System.
4. Loeschke was diagnosed with cancer in April 2014. She took a leave of absence starting in August 2014. She resigned in December 2014 and lost her fight against cancer in June 2015.
5. Chandler was acting president while Loeschke was on medical leave.

References

1. "Towson University". Maryland Manual On-Line.
2. "Cox named acting head at Towson State" . The Baltimore Sun . August 25, 1978. p. 52 – via newspapers.com. Joseph W. Cox, dean of Towson State University and vice president for academic affairs, was named acting president of the university yesterday. He will take over when James L. Fisher leaves the presidency September 1 to head a Washington-based educational organization. Dr. Cox has been dean of the university and vice president for academic affairs since July, 1977.
3. "Towson president named" . The Baltimore Sun . May 12, 1979. p. 1 – via newspapers.com. An administrator at an Iowa college has been named the new president of Towson State University, it was announced today. Hoke L. Smith, 48, the vice president for academic administration at Drake University in Des Moines, was chosen from a list of 10 finalists, a college spokesman said. He will assume his duties in July. He replaces James L. Fisher, who resigned last September to head the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, a Washington-based educational organization. In 1 the interim, Joseph W. Cox, the dean and vice president for academic affairs, has been serving as acting president.
4. "Towson University head says he'll retire in 2001" . The Baltimore Sun . September 18, 1999. p. 17 – via newspapers.com. He said giving the university 21 months' notice will provide it with "time to prepare for an orderly change in the presidency."
5. "New Towson University President Named". University System of Maryland. February 6, 2001.
6. Trejos, Nancy (April 8, 2002). "Towson U. President Quits Under Pressure" . The Washington Post .
7. "Acting President Named at Towson University". University System of Maryland. April 12, 2002.
8. "Dan Jones Named Interim President at Towson University Search for New President to Begin". University System of Maryland. May 3, 2002.
9. "Caret accepts Towson U. presidency four months after turning it down" . The Baltimore Sun . April 3, 2003. p. A6 – via newspapers.com. Caret's hiring comes one year after the resignation of Mark L. Perkins, who led the university for nine months before leaving under fire for spending $1.8 million on the Towson president's mansion. Caret will replace interim president Dan L. Jones, the school's provost, in July.
10. "Towson U. president to head UMass" . The Baltimore Sun . January 14, 2011. p. A1 – via newspapers.com. Towson University President Robert L. Caret, who bolstered his reputation through campus expansion, unprecedented fundraising and new academic programs, will leave to become the next president of the University of Massachusetts system after being selected Thursday over two other finalists. Caret has served as president at Towson since 2003 and has spent most of his career at the university.
11. "Towson Provost Marcia Welsh Named Interim President". University System of Maryland. March 28, 2011.
12. "Maravene Loeschke Appointed President of Towson University". University System of Maryland. September 19, 2011.
13. "Towson University president takes leave of absence because of health issues" . The Baltimore Sun . August 21, 2014.
14. "Towson University president resigns due to health concerns". KSL-TV . December 19, 2014.
15. "Tim Chandler Appointed Acting President of Towson University". University System of Maryland. August 21, 2014.
16. "A New President". Towson University. 2015.
17. "Towson President Kim Schatzel to leave after seven year tenure Editor in Chief". The Towerlight . November 30, 2022.
18. "Provost Melanie Perreault named Towson University interim president". Towson University.
19. "Dr. Mark R. Ginsberg named Towson University's 15th President". Towson University. August 2, 2023.

External links

• Towson President Biographies