Towson University names first dean of College of Graduate Studies

By Theresa Pratt, Deputy News Editor

Towson University announced Laila Richman will serve as the university’s first dean of the College of Graduate Studies. Richman is an internal promotion having worked at Towson since 2011.

Towson established the College of Graduate Studies in 2025 to help expand the university’s research portfolio. Richman was announced as the new dean in late March.

Richman previously served as associate dean in the College of Education at Towson starting in 2023. She held other positions in the dean’s office and worked as a professor both at Towson, and other colleges. Her doctorate is from the University of Kansas in Special Education. 

Richman is excited about her new role and believes her previous positions have helped prepare her for this one. 

She said graduate education is important because, at that level, students tend to have a better sense of what they are passionate about.

With supporting students in graduate education, she also thinks it is important to build connections with students beyond assisting them in the classroom to help them develop soft skills needed for their future occupations. She aims to do that through regularly meeting with the Graduate Student Association and making sure that graduate students are aware of the different resources that Towson offers. 

“I need to talk with people, I need to get feedback, and then I need to work with groups of individuals to come up with solutions,” she said. 

One of the people involved in the selection process was Laurie Mullen, the dean of the College of Education. She served as chair of the search committee.

When selecting someone for the position, Mullen said that it was important for the search committee to select someone whose background, experiences, disposition and orientation were consistent with the job expectations. 

“Dr. Richman met and exceeded all of those expectations,” Mullen said. “She also had very positive working interactions, not just with the committee but also with those who attended the various stakeholder sessions. In addition to her professional expertise, I think she exudes collaboration, kindness and a willingness to work together to get things done.”

Towson’s Provost Melanie Perreault was also involved in the selection process. 

Similar to Mullen, Pereault said that Richman has qualities that align with Towson’s goals for the College of Graduate Studies. These goals include developing new PhD programs and providing student support. 

“We did zoom interviews with twelve to fifteen candidates first to decide who we were going to bring to campus and, even in her Zoom interview, she stood out as having a combination of experience and confidence to do things such as going out to speak with leaders in the workforce,” Perreault said. 

Richman’s time serving in the position will begin on July 1. Her term is expected to be five years long and is renewable.