March 2010 Alumni Newsletter

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Alumni Profiles

Poorbaugh, Gail
McDuffie, Jason
Palien, Michael
Porterfield, Anne
Burke, Arielle
Laumann, Matthew
Little, Joyce
Shulman, Rhoda
Siskos, Despina
Hughes, Gina
Mitchell, Christopher
Hinson, Angela
Crenshaw, Michelle
White, Christina
Roach, Brendan
Rutledge, Eric
Holleran, Vanessa
Mitola, Richard
Riddle, Jeffrey
Long, Jennifer
Klinedinst, Michelle
Klinedinst, James
Thompson, Eric
Macdonald, Christopher
Turnock, Mary Alice
Hutchins, Angela
Vespa, Stephen
Morfessis, Chrisanthe
Amartey, Sonya
Scrimger, Albert
Kotroba, Jeffrey
Sebek, Christopher
Smeltz, Lindsey
Reeves, Craig
French, Richard
Parikh, Ketankumar
Altshuler, Andrew
Braun, Margaret
Jones, Chiara
Messuri, Dominic
Gates, Cristie
Laws, Keyana
Hughes, Derek
Miles, Nicole
Ostro, Kristen
Dabulskis, Christina
Evans, Elbert
Pokorny, Elizabeth
Dustmann, Walter
Stone, Angela
Hopkinson, Elizabeth
Sagner, John
Rimpel, Ruthza
Smith, Doris
Trenchard, Steven
Primus, Tonya
Deller, Michael
Dilks, Meagan
Kruskamp, Steven
Curran, Brendan
Conrad, Chad
Brazil, Jennifer

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Tiger Spotlight

Anne Porterfield
M.Ed '05

When deciding to change her profession after a career in banking and then raising young children, Anne Porterfield was inspired by her children's teachers to pursue a career in teaching. "I was overwhelmed by their insights towards my kids, their devotion to their work, their intelligence and general happiness and satisfaction in their work." So she picked up the phone and called Towson University's Dean of the Department of Education and spoke with Dr. Karen Blair, who eased her nervousness about returning to "homework" after nearly 25 years, and sparked Porterfield's interest in a career as a reading specialist. Drawn to the historical roots as the state's teachers college, Porterfield enrolled at Towson and earned a Masters in Education in 2005.

After graduation, Porterfield began working as a reading specialist at St. Ignatius Loyola Academy - a tuition free, Jesuit middle school for low income boys in Baltimore City which serves approximately 80 boys in grades 6, 7 and 8. She created a reading curriculum for the school that includes direct reading instruction and promotion of family literacy to the families. They also created a library at the school which houses nearly 2,700 books and allows four readings instructions for each student per week! While at Towson, Porterfield realized that she wanted to "work in Baltimore City with kids who have not had the advantages I have had or that my children have had." She serves as a reading tutor and librarian, writes lesson plans for all three grades, serves on curriculum and scheduling committees, and applies for grants for the school. Anne was the recipient of the 2010 Towson University Alumni Association Community grant, with the funding to go towards magazine subscriptions for the St. Ignatius library. Porterfield is "firmly convinced that good, solid, effective reading skills are the key to all aspects of a successful education" and she is certainly doing her part to see these young students succeed!

Reflecting back on her experience at Towson, Porterfield adds, "I had not expected the depth of personal connections I made at Towson. What I did expect was a good, solid training in reading instruction; I got that, but along the way I saw some true role models at work."

For more information on St. Ignatius Loyola Academy, please click here.

TU Events

Towson Heritage Celebration

The Alumni Relations Office is looking for our legacy students and alumni. Family connections are a part of Towson University’s success. Many of our current students are sons and daughters of Towson alumni, or they have legacy connections through their siblings or grandparents. We believe that these legacy connections are something to commemorate, so we are inviting all of our legacy alumni and students to a special “Towson Heritage Celebration.” Please let us know if you are part of a Towson University legacy family and we will get you the information about the event.

TU 2010

Culminating the 2010 Plan

As part of our Metropolitan Mission to address the needs of our region and serve as the workforce engine for our state, Towson University is building a pipeline of k-12 students who want to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) careers. In addition to the existing Hackerman Academy, our recent acquisition of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute's Education and Outreach program also enhances our k-12 partnerships with area schools to promote and nurture excitement in math and science. The TU Center for STEM Excellence pulls together Towson's comprehensive efforts to encourage more students, particularly women and minorities, into STEM majors, and also preparing educators who can teach STEM disciplines. Towson already enrolls as many women as men STEM majors, and also plans to triple the production of STEM teachers and computer information science majors.