Largest TU alumni gift has wide-ranging benefit.

Towson University alumnus Fran Soistman Jr. ’79 has been a proud Tiger for more than 40 years. In 2015 he received an honorary doctorate degree from TU that read, in part, “He approaches complex issues with the university’s best interests at heart—unfailingly thoughtful, inclusive and focused on the ultimate goal.”

With a recent $5.4 million gift—the largest from an alumnus/a in TU history— Soistman, a nationally recognized expert and top executive in the health care management sector, has continued to demonstrate his boundless affection for his alma mater. His first gift to TU in the late 1980s was followed by many additional contributions totaling more than $600,000 in support of projects and initiatives across the institution.

“Over the past 30 years, I have had the pleasure of establishing multiple endowments and supporting a number of important initiatives at TU. Given the university’s strong momentum and significant opportunities to advance its ambitious vision, I thought that it was the right time to make a substantial commitment to TU’s future,” he says. “I hope it inspires others to support the university. My goal is that a fellow alum will quickly follow my gift with an even larger gift.”

President Kim Schatzel thanked Soistman for his generosity.

“Dr. Soistman’s gift is a remarkable extension of his legacy of generosity towards his alma mater. With this gift, Fran will help ensure that the university continues to attract talented students and provides enhanced resources to faculty and staff to support outstanding world-class research, teaching, and student success,” President Kim Schatzel said. “His gift is historic, and Fran’s leadership over the years has been extraordinary. And this gift further demonstrates that — as the largest gift ever given to Towson University by an alum.”

Soistman is the Founder and President of Healthcare Management & Transformation Advisory Services LLC. He retired as CVS Health-Aetna’s executive vice president and president of government services in 2019 after serving as Executive Vice President at Coventry Health Care and President and CEO at HealthAmerica.

Throughout his career, Soistman has remained strongly connected to TU. He has served on the Towson University Board of Visitors (BOV) since 2002 and as chair from 2016-18. He also served as a director on the TU Foundation – one of his earliest volunteer roles with the university.

His $5.4 million gift to TU will benefit athletics, the College of Health Professions, the College of Business & Economics and programming to advance equity, diversity and inclusion.

A “healthy” gift for future leaders in healthcare and business

After spending most of his career in executive leadership positions in healthcare, it is appropriate that a portion of his gift will also support the construction of a new building for the College of Health Professions—a $173 million, 229,000 square foot home that will prepare students to become future health care leaders in Maryland and beyond.

“With the graying of America—the needs are only getting greater,” he says. “The pandemic pointed out our vulnerability as a nation and woke us up to the importance of health professionals as frontline and essential workers. Our CHP students have been scattered over a 2-mile radius for decades. It’s important that we bring them all under one roof.”

Soistman’s gift will also fully endow a wide range of scholarships in the College of Business & Economics, where he received his bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance, thus ensuring TU business students will reap the benefits of Soistman’s generosity annually.

“Business is the economic engine for Baltimore, the state of Maryland, and the entire region,” Soistman notes. “We produce many talented graduates. We need to continue to invest in this area.”

(from the Towson University newsroom)

Dr. Natalie M. Scala nominated for 2021 USM Faculty and Staff Board of Regents Award in Public Service!

Congratulations to Dr. Natalie M. Scala, Associate Professor in the Department of Business Analytics & Technology Management and Director of the Master’s Program in Supply Chain Management, on her nomination to the 2021 University System of Maryland Faculty and Staff Board of Regents Awards for Excellence in Public Service!

Each spring the University System of Maryland’s Board of Regents recognizes outstanding faculty in five categories: teaching, scholarship, research, or creative activity, public service, mentoring, and innovation. According to USM Chancellor Perman, universities must nominate those individuals who “clearly exceed ordinary obligations.” Dr. Scala’s work this past year focusing on election security certainly fits the bill.

Dr. Scala’s ongoing research on elections security has directly impacted the local community, the state of Maryland and beyond. In particular, her work has identified vulnerabilities to polling places, proposed mitigations for those vulnerabilities, and created educational training for poll workers to identify and respond to threats. To achieve this, she has partnered with Anne Arundel and Harford counties to customize the poll worker training with county-specific needs. Specifically, the partnerships with the counties can positively impact the training of over 1,900 poll workers in a pandemic, who will preserve the integrity of votes in counties with populations of approximately 750,000.

Dean Kaynama, expressed her delight at Natalie’s nomination, sharing “Since joining TU in 2013, Dr. Scala has consistently translated her collaborations and student-involved research into projects that make a difference in the community. We are proud to have her represent TU and the CBE.”

Winners will be recognized at the annual USM Faculty/Staff Recognition virtual event on March 23rd.

Good luck Dr. Scala!

Unprecedented four winning teams are declared in Live Strategy Case Competition

The industry judges of the annual Live Strategy Case Competition at Towson University normally choose just three winning teams, but this year stood apart. Judges from this semester’s industry sponsor, J.P. Morgan Private Bank, were so impressed by TU students’ analyses that they couldn’t decide on just three winning teams, so they presented a fourth-place winner.

In first place, the team Five Forces from assistant professor Anna Obedkova’s management capstone course took the leading number of points, which included business administration seniors John Elmes, Nick Gordon, Ruby Goldin, Milan Patel, and Sophia Rampolla. A team called the COVID Consultants won second place, while another called the Brain Trust won third and the Fantastic 3 took fourth.

Every semester, the Live Strategy Case Competition requires students from the capstone MNGT 481 strategic management course to analyze the local business climate and propose solutions for an industry sponsor, researched over the course of the semester. The culmination of those were presented over Zoom on Friday, Dec. 4 to a panel of judges representing J.P. Morgan.

Like almost all companies and organizations, J.P. Morgan has adopted new business practices and embraced emerging trends in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The case study challenged teams of students to recommend which of these measures should continue and answer the question: “How should the bank adapt its business to thrive in the post-COVID-19 world?”

Obedkova said the judges were impressed with a map of Maryland that the winning team created which reflected the density of potential clients in each county.

“The team used an array of public data sources to overlay several maps over each other to provide the level of details that the judges found very useful,” says Obedkova.

Across the board, judges were impressed by this semester’s presentations.

“To see the talent TU has is extraordinary,” says Elizabeth Lenrow, one of the judges from J.P. Morgan.

Zoom screen with Data Analytics finalists

Data Analytics Competition breaks ground and breaks borders across TU colleges

The first Data Analytics Competition at Towson University closed a successful competition period on Friday, Nov. 20. This was the second of two rounds; the first round having closed  Oct. 31. The late November Zoom session brought together the contestants who passed Round 1 and ended with an announcement of winners. Continue reading “Data Analytics Competition breaks ground and breaks borders across TU colleges” →

CBE management professor and students are recognized state-wide

CBE professor of management, Joseph Zuccaro and over 130 CBE students are being recognized state-wide by the Regional Manufacturing Institute (RMI) for one of two “People’s Choice Awards” as “Champions of Maryland Manufacturing.”

RMI awarded both Zuccaro and the students in his management and leadership principles course for their research in Maryland manufacturing, surpassing 17 other organizations nominated. The recognized project required students to work in teams to study and interview various manufacturing companies.

“The purpose of this project is to learn about the individual companies and manufacturing in the state, but secondary objectives include learning to use the business resources in Cook Library, navigating LinkedIn, and networking,” Zuccaro says.

Zucarro’s course gave students the opportunity to learn more about the local manufacturing industry as well as network with RMI members who lead various Maryland manufacturing companies.

RMI says recognizing “Champions of Maryland Manufacturing” is a key part of the group’s image campaign to put a face on the next generation of manufacturing.

As a part of the integrative program, management and leadership principles students analyzed manufacturing companies from sectors prevalent in Maryland, including chemical & petroleum, electronics, fabricated metal, food & beverage, leather products, machinery, nonmetallic minerals, paper & packaging, plastics & rubber, primary & metal, printing, textiles & apparel, and transportation.

The hands-on program was designed to benefit both the manufacturing ecosystem and the aspiring business leaders, says Zuccaro.

“Since a majority of TU students are from Maryland and remain in the state upon graduation, it benefits them to know about the major industries present in the state and the career opportunities they offer,” Zuccaro says.

“It also makes sense to promote these industries and make employers aware of the local, motivated talent available for their workforce.”

In addition, Zuccaro’s course enabled the students to ask industry professionals how they handle a variety of relevant issues including COVID-19, technology, and diversity. Students are learning how to navigate virtual networking, which is an increasingly essential skill.

“Students are working hard to use virtual networking tools like LinkedIn to identify managers at the selected companies,” Zucarro says. “It can be very challenging to get through to people, especially during the pandemic”

RMI says Zucarro is changing the next generation of business leaders. Students in Zuccaro’s class will take away a broad understanding of the importance of manufacturing to both the State of Maryland as well as the nation, while planting a seed that a manufacturing career can be rewarding in many ways.