Officials Break Ground on Towson University Project at HCC

A degree from Towson University got a lot closer to home.

Officials were on hand for the groundbreaking Thursday of Towson University's new project on the campus of Harford Community College near Bel Air.

Towson University President Maravene Loeschke and University System of Maryland Chancellor William "Brit" Kirwan were among those on hand for the event, according to a press release from the university.

Towson University in Northeastern Maryland will allow students to study two years at Harford Community College, or HCC, then finish their bachelor's degrees in Towson's facility there. More than 70 percent of HCC students who seek further education already transfer to Towson, Loeschke said in the release.

Towson's Harford County building will offer degree programs in business administration (management concentration), information technology, integrated early childhood education/special education, psychology and sociology (criminal justice concentration). The program will be run completely by Towson, with admissions requirements identical to the main campus, according to the release.

The 60,000-square-foot building will also host wet labs, an auditorium, library, bookstore and lactation room, according to the release. Towson officials expect between 140 and 200 students in the first class when the $28 million facility opens in the fall of 2014.

A contract related to the building's construction was briefly delayed due to concerns over how Towson officials handled recent athletics cuts.