Towson

The proposed $60 million apartment-and-retail development proposed for the Towson Triangle is dredging up an old ambivalence about the character of the Baltimore County seat. Is it a college town? A community for families and children? A commercial downtown? A shopping and entertainment district? A home for empty-nesters? It is, and long has been, all of the above, coexisting in what is at times an uneasy balance that grows more uneasy periodically when any one segment of the community seeks to expand its presence.

The Towson University Alumni Association Board of Directors supports President Maravene Loeschke and her commitment to advance our alma mater's focus on student success and academic excellence. Since Ms. Loeschke's arrival, Towson alumni have witnessed countless examples of her enthusiasm and devotion to Towson University. Her love for students is evident in everything she does. Dr. Loeschke's leadership - transparent, compassionate, inclusive and decisive - has served her well in making difficult, sometimes heart-wrenching decisions.

Loyola, Towson and UMBC learned their seeding in their respective conference tournaments, which will take place later this week. The No. 7 and reigning national champion Greyhounds (11-3) earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament. Despite finishing with an identical 6-1 league record as No. 6 Denver (11-3), the Pioneers got the top seed due to a head-to-head tiebreaker stemming from their 13-12 overtime decision against Loyola on April 13. The Greyhounds will face No. 8 Ohio State (10-3 overall and 5-2 in the ECAC)

The Towson University Board of Visitors fully supports President Maravene Loeschke and her leadership of the University ("Franchot goes too far" April 20). President Loeschke has taken the responsible approach to ensure that Towson athletics are fiscally responsible, compliant with federal Title IX law and competitive in the NCAA Colonial Athletic Association, Division 1 athletic conference. The Board of Visitors is a service and advisory organization of Towson University established to provide advice to the president.

Cory Dobyns has sat out Towson's past two contests, and the sophomore attackman's status could remain the same for Saturday night's regular-season finale against St. Joseph's at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson. Tigers coach Shawn Nadelen said Dobyns remains a game-time decision as he continues to deal with an unspecified injury suffered in a 9-5 victory over Massachusetts on April 6. The team has already clinched the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Colonial Athletic Association tournament and could elect to rest Dobyns for another weekend, but Nadelen said if Dobyns is available, he will play.

I have been following the testimonials in The Sun from longtime associates and friends of Towson University President Maravene Loeschke affirming her leadership and managerial skills ("Towson University has a first-class leader," April 24). I'm sure that she has performed many of these skills well. However, her actions on March 8 were not a demonstration of any of them. It's hard to imagine a more mismanaged day. Evidently, in an effort to limit the number of student-athletes she would actually have to look in the eye, she tried to pull the kids out of class with less than an hour's notice, spoke to less than half of each squad, delivered a message of a few minutes in length while escorted by campus police, took no questions, and departed the scene escorted by even more policemen.

As a Maryland taxpayer, I am appalled at the back room deal made by advocates of the Towson University men's baseball program and the response by Comptroller Peter Franchot ("Franchot calls on president of Towson University to resign," April 18). The taxpayers should be outraged that for the next two years, they are forced to fund (to the tune of $300,000 per year) a program that has already been determined to be unsustainable. Towson University President Maravene Loeschke was brave to make such a difficult decision in the face of the obviously powerful "sports lobbyists," and she should be applauded.

With a 7-7 overall record and a 3-2 mark in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), Towson is locked in as the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. The team can't catch No. 15 Drexel (10-3, 5-1) for the No. 2 seed and owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over Hofstra (7-6, 2-3) for the No. 3 spot. But that doesn't mean that the Tigers are planning on coasting in Saturday's regular-season finale against St. Joseph's at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson. “Any game you compete in - I don't care if it's T-ball or lacrosse - you want to win, and that's important for us as a program,” coach Shawn Nadelen said Monday.

ESPN analyst Paul Carcaterra participated in a Q&A Monday. The former Syracuse All-American midfielder, who can be followed on Twitter via @paulcarcaterra, also answered a few questions about No. 4 Maryland, No. 7 Loyola, No. 13 Johns Hopkins, Towson and UMBC. A month ago, many people would have said that Maryland is the heavy favorite to win the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. Are the Terps still the favorite? No, I think it's a three-horse race between Maryland, [No. 1]

Recently, our president at Towson University, Maravene Loeschke, has endured great scrutiny for her decision to discontinue the men's soccer and baseball teams. The most vocal of critics has been Comptroller Peter Franchot, who called for her resignation last week ("Franchot calls on president of Towson University to resign," April 18). As the Student Government Association president, I wish to express how happy I am that President Loeschke has stated that she will not resign and will continue to serve this campus and its students.