Towson U. Provost Leaves for East Stroudsburg Presidency

Marcia Welsh, provost, who briefly served as interim president, is leaving to accept the presidency of East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania.

"It is an honor and a privilege to be selected as the next president of East Stroudsburg University," Welsh said an ESU press release. "I look forward to working closely with the ESU community, both on campus and off, to build upon the tremendous legacy of the university."

Welsh succeeds retiring ESU president Robert J. Dillman.

"Dr. Welsh will bring the same leadership to her new institution and she will be missed at Towson," Towson President Maravene Loeschke said in a statement to the university community announcing Welsh's departure.

Welsh, a Campus Hills resident, came to Towson in 2009 from Adelphi University in New York.

Following the, Welsh served as interim president from April to December last year.

During her brief tenure at the helm, she helped improve community relations by sitting down regularly with neighborhood leaders and even inviting some residents to the president's suite during football games last fall.

"I'm sorry to see her leave, because I feel she had a real good connection with the community," said Paul Hartman, Aigburth Manor resident and vice president of the Greater Towson Council of Community Associations.

Welsh's name had been floated for several presidential vacancies in recent months, including at East Stroudsburg and the University of Indianapolis.

In her statement, Loeschke said she will appoint an interim provost "in the next few weeks" and a national search for the next provost will be conducted next fall.