Caret

Towson University President Robert L. Caret, who bolstered his school's 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. His aggressive efforts to expand Towson's physical footprint and academic scope made him a star among state university presidents but also caused occasional friction with community activists and other educational leaders.

When Robert L. Caret became president of Towson University in 2003, he knew that the institution where he had begun as a professor in 1974 was set for a boom in student population. What he did not know was how Towson would look or how perceptions of it would differ after those thousands of students arrived. "What does Towson become when it grows up?" he says, remembering the question that loomed largest for him as a new leader. Eight years later, with Caret departing to take over the University of Massachusetts system, he says the answer has taken form, even if it's not complete.

When Robert L. Caret became president of Towson University in 2003, he knew that the institution where he had begun as a professor in 1974 was set for a boom in student population. What he did not know was how Towson would look or how perceptions of it would differ after those thousands of students arrived. "What does Towson become when it grows up?" he says, remembering the question that loomed largest for him as a new leader. Eight years later, with Caret departing to take over the University of Massachusetts system, he says the answer has taken form, even if it's not complete.

Towson University's provost will become its interim president after the departure next month of Robert L. Caret, a spokeswoman for the state university system confirmed Monday morning. William E. Kirwan, chancellor of the University System of Maryland, appointed Marcia G. Welsh, who has served as provost and vice president for academic affairs since 2009 at Towson. The decision was announced to the Towson community in an email Monday, said system spokeswoman Anne Moultrie. Welsh will begin her new duties on April 20, the day after Caret is scheduled to depart Towson.

Maine native Dr. Robert L. Caret has spent most of his life in the world of academia. After receiving a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of New Hampshire in 1974, he began teaching at Towson. At the conclusion of a 21-year stint - including positions as faculty member, dean, executive vice president and provost - at the school, Caret left to assume the presidency of San Jose State University in 1995. In 2003, he returned to the area to become president of Towson University.

The regents of the University System of Maryland have named a former provost of Towson University as the school's next president - only four months after he turned down the job. Robert L. Caret, the president of San Jose State University, has decided to return to Maryland to assume the presidency of the state's second-largest university, said system Chancellor William E. Kirwan. Caret, 55, was privately approved by the regents Tuesday and will be reintroduced today to the Towson campus, which he left in 1995 after serving there 21 years as a chemistry professor, dean and provost.

Returning to the campus he left eight years ago, the next president of Towson University told dozens of faculty and staff yesterday that his aim is to bring the college the funding and recognition it is due. "My role is to make sure Towson gets more of the respect it deserves -- and as a result, more resources," said Robert L. Caret, Towson's former provost. "Towson needs to work hard on its image. Its image is solid, but it needs to be better. Towson deserves to be a player in the state of Maryland."

The Facebook page of Towson University President Robert Caret lists a line from Pat Conroy as his favorite quotation: "Why do they not teach you that time is a finger snap and an eye blink, and that you should not allow a moment to pass you by without taking joyous, ecstatic note of it, not wasting a moment of its swift, breakneck circuit?" In six years at Towson, Caret has not wasted a second. The university's recent skirmish with neighbors in Rodgers Forge, over the location of a new 5,000-seat arena, is an example of both Caret's urgency and his diplomacy.

When Robert L. Caret, the new president of Towson University, ventures out to talk about his vision for the school, he often gets asked about something else. "Everyone wants to know about the elevator," he says. "The elevator," of course, refers to one of the standout features of the mansion in Baltimore's Guilford neighborhood that Towson purchased and renovated - at a cost of $1.8 million - for Caret's predecessor. Mark L. Perkins resigned last year under fire for the spending, leaving it to an interim president and now Caret to handle the fallout and get the state's second-largest public university back on track.

In the latest setback in Towson University's search for leadership, a California administrator withdrew his candidacy for the school's presidency yesterday -- just three days before he was expected to be given the job. Robert L. Caret, a former Towson provost and professor, said he has decided to remain as president of San Jose State University after giving "serious thought" to returning to be Towson's president. Regents of the University System of Maryland say that the board had been planning to vote on Caret as president at its meeting Friday.

Towson University President Robert L. Caret, who bolstered his school's 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. His aggressive efforts to expand Towson's physical footprint and academic scope made him a star among state university presidents but also caused occasional friction with community activists and other educational leaders.

Towson University President Robert L. Caret is a leading candidate to become the next president of the University of Massachusetts system, according to published reports in Boston. Caret and the departing chancellor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Phillip Clay, are among the candidates who will sit for a second round of interviews Jan. 13, the Boston Globe reported. The UMass board of trustees could announce its selection after a special session the same day, a spokesman for the system said.

Towson University will be a smoke-free campus, it announced Wednesday, becoming Maryland's first four-year college to ban an activity once as commonplace as lounging on the quad. The reason for the policy, which goes into effect in August, is simple, administrators said: They want to reduce health risks from smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke. "I don't try to guide people in how they live their lives, but I am going to protect the campus so it's clean and pleasant for as many people as possible," said Towson President Robert L. Caret.

The student editor of Towson University's independent newspaper The Towerlight has stepped down after a standoff with President Robert L. Caret over the publication of an explicit sex column. Editor Carrie Wood, a junior from Reisterstown, resigned Friday after exchanging e-mails with Caret over a column called "The Bed Post." The newspaper's editors have since discontinued the column because it was published under a pseudonym and the author wished to remain anonymous. But they have said they might continue to publish it online.

Towson University President Robert L. Caret was standing in the middle of a sunny atrium in the school's virtual online campus, holding forth on student life, when he was attacked. An avatar - or online representation of a person - in a blue dress walked right into him. "An avatar just attacked me, I think," Caret said, laughing. "I'm hoping it was unintentional." Caret holds monthly "study breaks," where he meets with students to answer questions and hear their concerns. Last week, for the first time, he met with students in the virtual world of Second Life - an online program populated by its own world of animated people and places.

The Facebook page of Towson University President Robert Caret lists a line from Pat Conroy as his favorite quotation: "Why do they not teach you that time is a finger snap and an eye blink, and that you should not allow a moment to pass you by without taking joyous, ecstatic note of it, not wasting a moment of its swift, breakneck circuit?" In six years at Towson, Caret has not wasted a second. The university's recent skirmish with neighbors in Rodgers Forge, over the location of a new 5,000-seat arena, is an example of both Caret's urgency and his diplomacy.

Former La Salle basketball star Gary Neal, who was acquitted of a rape charge three weeks ago and is hoping to resume his career at Towson University, is expected to be cleared to play by the school next week, according to sources close to the situation. Sources said an administrative review committee headed by Towson athletic director Wayne Edwards has recommended to university president Dr. Robert Caret that Neal, a Calvert Hall graduate who also starred at Aberdeen High School, be allowed to join the Tigers.

Towson University President Robert L. Caret was standing in the middle of a sunny atrium in the school's virtual online campus, holding forth on student life, when he was attacked. An avatar - or online representation of a person - in a blue dress walked right into him. "An avatar just attacked me, I think," Caret said, laughing. "I'm hoping it was unintentional." Caret holds monthly "study breaks," where he meets with students to answer questions and hear their concerns. Last week, for the first time, he met with students in the virtual world of Second Life - an online program populated by its own world of animated people and places.

Maine native Dr. Robert L. Caret has spent most of his life in the world of academia. After receiving a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of New Hampshire in 1974, he began teaching at Towson. At the conclusion of a 21-year stint - including positions as faculty member, dean, executive vice president and provost - at the school, Caret left to assume the presidency of San Jose State University in 1995. In 2003, he returned to the area to become president of Towson University.