News | 4/14/08

Media Credit: Patrick Smith [Click to enlarge]

Now Dyan Brasington finally gets a chance to breath. After one of the most influential weeks in her life has come to a close, the new Towson vice president of the division of economic and community outreach can relax in her office overlooking York Road.

April 2 was Brasington's first day as vice president of DECO after what she described as months of interviewing. Four days later, she was married at The Belvedere in Baltimore before taking two days off for an abbreviated honeymoon.

Shortly after her return, she and her son will make a decision on where he will go to college.

"All of these life changing things are all happening at the same time," Brasington said. "It's been all of these experiences within a week. Now that I think about it, wow."

Her son, a senior at Severna Park High School in Anne Arundel County, is torn between Towson and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Brasington said she "obviously" has her own bias, but the decision is her son's to make.

Brasington made her decision to come to Towson in 2004, leaving her post as president of the Technology Council of Maryland to become director of economic workforce development when current provost James Clements was the vice president of DECO.

A 1974 graduate a Florida State; Brasington received certification as an economic developer at Oklahoma University. While working in Montgomery County she was instrumental in the creation of the Universities at Shady Grove, a center where students enrolled at other University System of Maryland schools can attend courses. In her work there, she became familiar with Towson University and Clements.

"With Towson's growth, Dr. Clements told me that it would be like North Carolina State or Michigan State and I'm from Florida State, so it was appealing to me," Brasington said.

When Clements was promoted to provost, Brasington spent time as acting associate vice president and associate vice president of DECO during the University's search for a permanent replacement. After serving in a leadership position during the transition, she admits to feeling threatened by the outside applicants for the job.

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