Mark L. Perkins, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, has been named president of Towson University, the University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents announced today. Perkins will succeed Hoke L. Smith, who will retire this coming June after serving 22 years as Towson's president. Perkins will begin his new position on July 1.

 

Perkins was selected by the Board and USM Chancellor Donald N. Langenberg from a national field of 110 candidates. A 16-member Presidential Search Committee, including representatives from Towson University's faculty, staff, student, and alumni population, and its Foundation Board and Board of Visitors, narrowed the field to four finalists. The finalists, including Perkins, were interviewed by the Board of Regents.

 

Perkins will be introduced to the Towson community at 10 a.m. today in a special convocation in the Potomac Lounge in the University Union on the Towson campus. Later he will meet with student leaders, members of the University's Staff Council and University Senate, as well as with the University's deans and senior administrators.

 

Nathan A. Chapman Jr., chairman of the Board of Regents, said Perkins's appointment marks the beginning of a new era at Towson.

 

"This is the second largest traditional campus in the USM in terms of its student population, and over the past decade it has become a vital hub of culture for central Maryland," Chapman said. "Whether you're coming here to study information technology, teaching, or music, or you simply want to improve your understanding of our state's economy, Towson is your destination. It is a true comprehensive university. When Hoke announced his retirement last year, all of us knew that it was of real importance to find someone who could sustain the depth and breadth of the institution while taking it to the next level in terms of ability and reputation. I believe we've found that leader in Mark Perkins."

 

Added Perkins: "Towson University is a special place where learning is important and people care. That's what makes me excited about this opportunity."

 

Langenberg said he believes Perkins is an ideal fit for Towson, because he is coming from a campus that, like Towson, has been making great strides over the past several years. Both campuses have experienced a steady rise in both their influence and reputation, in large part on the strength of their leadership. Perkins's experiences will provide him with a solid foundation from which to sustain Towson's momentum well into the 21st century, Langenberg predicted.

 

"I have kept an eye on the Green Bay campus because I have family in Wisconsin," Langenberg said. "I noticed that for much of the 1990s and through today, it has been on a remarkable upswing. Clearly, it's not a coincidence that Mark Perkins has been at the tiller for much of that time. So I was delighted when I heard that he was a candidate for this position. With today's announcement, I am confident that we are witnessing one very capable president, Hoke Smith, succeeded by another."

 

Gerard J. Gaeng, a member of Towson's Class of 1981 and chairman of the search committee, said, "The campus community wanted an energetic and innovative leader with vision and integrity. Mark Perkins is all of these. He is a listener, a planner, an intellectual, a team builder and an advocate. He is passionate about learning, and confident about Towson's future prominence as a premier teaching university."

 

Perkins has served as chancellor of the Green Bay campus of the University of Wisconsin since 1994. While there, he increased state support and tripled the endowment at the 5,500-student campus. He headed up a major capital improvement and expansion program, which called for the first new academic facilities in 25 years. He also served as professor of business administration and human development (psychology).

 

Prior to that, Perkins was the executive vice president for three years at the California State University, Stanislaus in Turlock, CA. His first job there was vice president for administration beginning in 1986. Throughout his tenure, he taught classes, led seminars and supervised dissertations on psychological measurement, leadership styles and related topics.

 

Perkins also held administrative positions and taught at Old Dominion University and the University of Georgia throughout the 1970s and '80s. He served a year in the Governor's Office in Virginia as a research specialist in 1972-73.

 

A native of Richmond, VA, Perkins earned a doctorate in psychometrics and statistics from the University of Georgia in 1976. He received his master's in psychometrics and research design from the same institution in 1974. He earned a bachelor's degree from St. Andrews Presbyterian College in 1972.

 

Perkins is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Society for College and University Planning, the American Educational Research Association, and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. He has been inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society, the Phi Delta Kappa National Honor Society in Education, and several other organizations recognizing leadership and academic distinction. He has published more than 60 papers and presentations, and served on dissertation committees at Old Dominion and the University of California, Los Angeles.

 

Perkins and his wife, Carolyn, have two college-age children.

 

Career Highlights of Mark L. Perkins, Newly Appointed President of Towson University

EDUCATION

 

Ph.D., University of Georgia, 1976 - Psychometrics and statistics
M.A., University of Georgia, 1974 - Psychometrics and research design
B.A., St. Andrews Presbyterian College, 1972 - Psychology

 

PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS

 

Chancellor and tenured full professor of human development (psychology) and business administration at the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay, 1994-2001

 

Executive vice; also taught classes in psychological measurement, leadership style, and related topics, at California State University, Stanislaus, in Turlock, CA, 1991-94

 

Vice president for administration and professor at California State University, Stanislaus, 1986-91

 

Associate executive vice president and professor specializing in measurement, organizational behavior, and differential psychology, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, 1982-86

 

Executive assistant to the president for policy and planning and associate professor, Old Dominion, 1981-82

 

Director, Office of University Planning and Analysis and associate professor, Old Dominion, 1979-81

 

Associate director, Office of Institutional Studies and assistant professor, Old Dominion, 1978-79

 

Assistant director, Office of Institutional Studies and assistant professor, Old Dominion, 1976-78

 

Research associate for Results Oriented Management in Education, University of Georgia, Athens, 1974-76

 

Instructor and research/teaching assistant, University of Georgia, Athens, 1973-74

 

Examination research and development specialist in the Virginia Governor's Office, 1972-73

 

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

 

American Psychological Association
American Educational Research Association
American Association of State Colleges and Universities
Society for College and University Planning

 

HONORS AND DISTINCTIONS

 

Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society
Kappa Delta Pi National Honor Society in Education
Phi Delta Kappa National Honor Society in Education
Phi Eta Sigma (society recognizing academic excellence in the freshmen year)
American Men and Women of Science
Outstanding Young Men of America
Personalities of the South

 

PERSONAL

 

Born October 13, 1949 in Richmond, VA
Married to Carolyn Jean (Snider) Perkins
Two college-age children