StarTUP at Towson University Tour

Ms. Beaver has served as the Carroll County Deputy Director of Economic Development since 2001. Prior to that Ms. Beaver held several Carroll County workforce development roles serving Carroll County businesses and citizens for a total of 27 years.
Selected as a Leadership Maryland Class of 2021 member and elected MEDA secretary in April 2021, Ms. Beaver also currently represents Carroll County at the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore Advisory Board, the Baltimore Gas & Electric Carroll County Advisory Council, the Carroll Transit Advisory Council, and the Mid-Maryland Workforce Development Board. Previously, Ms. Beaver was a founding member, board member, and Secretary of the Carroll Technology Council (now Carroll Technology & Innovation Council) for 16 years.
Ms. Beaver holds degrees from Kutztown University and Towson University and resides in Westminster.

Dr. Daraius Irani serves as Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research at Towson University. In this role, he fosters the development of partnerships between business, government, and education that contribute to the economic vitality of the greater Baltimore region.

For over twenty years, Irani has served in several senior leadership roles at Towson University. As vice president, Irani provides leadership and management to over 70 highly-skilled professionals who work on campus and in state agencies across the state. Collectively, his teams work to open the doors of the university to solve pressing problems, further community collaboration, expand learning opportunities, and generate economic development.

Irani is committed to Towson University and has set priorities that reflect that commitment. These include working to better integrate the Division into the University; advancing Towson University’s reputation as a leader in applied research, education, and EdTech; and making positive impacts through university-community partnerships.

Additionally, Irani serves as chief economist for the Regional Economic Studies Institute (RESI) at Towson University, a policy group providing economic, fiscal impact, and policy analysis to state agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private sector firms. During his tenure at RESI, Irani has managed and served as lead economist on well over 250 research and analysis projects. He also has produced over 100 economic and fiscal impact statements for a diverse portfolio of clients.

Irani is often called upon to provide economic presentations to organizations across Maryland. He has appeared on CNN, the Marc Steiner show, WYPR’s Midday, and Maryland Public Television’s Business Connection. He is often quoted in articles published by Maryland Daily Record, Baltimore Business Journal, The Baltimore Sun, and Washington Post.

EDUCATION
Dr. Irani holds a Ph.D. in economics from University of California, Santa Barbara; a M.A. in business economics from University of California, Santa Barbara; and a B.A. in economics from University of California, San Diego.

PERSONAL
Dr. Irani is an avid bicyclist and golfer.

FUN FACT
What are three websites everyone should have bookmarked? www.WSJ.com, www.economist.com and www.NYTimes.com

Over 20 years of experience as an executive leader in both public and private sectors. Core competencies include innovative leadership, resource management, financial acumen, talent development, public relations, facilities oversight, program management, government relations, cross-team facilitation, and business partnership development. Expertise in educational systems, curriculum, professional development, organizational leadership, literacy, equity, policy studies, and communications. Proven results leading teams through innovative change by using data strategically; utilizing the strengths of individuals, groups, and communities; using creative problem-solving to design new pathways for success; and advocating passionately for all students, families, and communities.

Dave Mayhew, Interim Director of Construction Services and Director University Architecture, Towson University
David Mayhew, FAIA is a registered architect with over 40 years of comprehensive experience in architecture, construction, and planning. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Architecture with degrees in both architecture and urban studies. For the last 27 years, Mr. Mayhew has served as the University Architect and Director of Design and Construction at Towson University, where he oversees the implementation of capital improvement projects, and participates in the development of the campus master plan. During his career at Towson University, he has overseen the development of over 1.5 billion dollars in capital improvements, including the design and construction of 22 new buildings and 12 comprehensive renovations. Prior to joining Towson University, Mr. Mayhew worked for several architectural firms in the Baltimore area and had his own architectural consulting firm. Mr. Mayhew is a member of the Association of University Architects, a member of the Society of College and University Planners, a LEED accredited professional, and a member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects.

Patrick McQuown, Executive Director of Entrepreneurship, Towson University
Patrick T. McQuown joined Towson University as executive director of entrepreneurship in 2020. In this role, McQuown leads the collective strategic vision and direction for entrepreneurship activities at TU, including academic and non-academic programs. McQuown works with academic leaders, faculty, students, administrative leaders and external constituents to integrate, develop, and promote entrepreneurial activity and innovative for-profit and non-profit business concepts.
McQuown also oversees the StarTUp at the Armory, TU’s front door for start-ups, small businesses, as well as our region’s largest corporations. McQuown and his team works to catalyze entrepreneurs and executives and connect them to each other and to TU’s programs and people, raising the profile of regional entrepreneurship.
Additionally, McQuown leads the StarTUp Accelerator, an intensive eight-week, cohort-based fellowship where selected fellows take residency and work in a collaborative space to accelerate their ventures.
McQuown is a 20-year veteran as a serial entrepreneur, mentor and educator.
He comes to TU from James Madison University, where he was the executive director of the Gilliam Center for Entrepreneurship. At JMU, McQuown created the JMU Summer Venture Accelerator—an 8-week program for student entrepreneurs resulting in more than $12M in outside capital raised for student ventures. McQuown secured a $5.2M naming gift—the largest naming gift in the school’s history—to name the Center for Entrepreneurship, and an additional gift of $1.3M for the space the center will occupy.
His higher education experience goes even deeper. McQuown served as an entrepreneur-in-residence at Brown University and Yale University. He also served as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University.
He launched his first company in 1996, working out of his dorm room at George Washington University. McQuown started that venture, Proteus, with $1,000 and no outside funding. Proteus grew into a mobile media industry leader and was first in the world to create an application that allowed users to send short text messages from a Web site to a handset. Among other accomplishments, McQuown and Proteus created text-polling for the reality television show American Idol.
His second startup, SinglePoint, raised $50M in venture capital and deployed two of the largest-ever messaging campaigns—one for the 2008 Summer Olympics and one for Obama for America.

MATTHEW MITTENTHAL, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, ASSET MANAGEMENT Greenberg Gibbons
Mr. Mittenthal joined Greenberg Gibbons in 2002 and currently serves as Senior Vice President of Asset Management. He is responsible for managing the company’s assets, including leasing, construction management, redevelopment, financial modeling and tenant coordination. He previously served as a property management and lease administration associate. Mr. Mittenthal earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa, and a Master of Science from the University of Alabama, both in Geosciences. He is a member of ICSC.

Melanie Perreault, Interim President, Towson University
Melanie Perreault, Ph.D., assumed the role of interim president on February 1, 2023 after serving four years as provost and executive vice president for academic and student affairs.
Since joining TU in February 2019, Dr. Perreault has served as the institution’s chief academic officer. During her tenure as provost, she managed 125 degree programs (undergraduate, master’s and doctorate) and oversaw support of nearly 23,000 students annually, more than 1,700 full-time and adjunct faculty and over 200 staff and administrators. She was also responsible for the creation and implementation of the university’s academic priorities and provides leadership over TU’s six academic colleges, the Honors College, the Office of Graduate Studies, the Albert S. Cook Library and the divisions of student affairs and enrollment management.
Dr. Perreault has spearheaded the university’s strategic goal of obtaining R2 Carnegie Classification for high research activity, an institutional priority that will further Towson University’s impact as a global leader. In 2022, she oversaw the process to expand TU’s mission statement to place greater emphasis on research and doctoral programming.
Dr. Perreault has also bolstered university support for faculty teaching and scholarship with instructional design services through the Faculty Academic Center of Excellence at Towson (FACET). In addition, she has helped to diversity TU’s professoriate by investing in programs that make faculty searches more inclusive and support the hiring and retention of underrepresented educators.
To further advance student success and academic excellence, Dr. Perreault established the Office of Competitive Fellowships and Awards, which supports academically strong students in growing their educational and career goals through highly competitive global awards. Her vision and leadership led to the creation of the Cook Library Academic Commons, an innovative one-stop-shop for academic support services in the heart of TU’s campus.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Perreault led the university’s COVID response team, working with the University System of Maryland, government officials and medical experts to set forth mitigation policies on TU’s campus. Her office also established resources for students and faculty amid the transition to remote learning.
To help rebound from COVID-era enrollment losses and support students with a high financial need, Dr. Perreault increased institutional aid to incoming students. In 2022, she began the development of TU’s first-ever comprehensive enrollment master planning process.
For her leadership at Towson University, Dr. Perreault was named to The Daily Record’s 2022 Top 100 Women List, which recognizes outstanding professional accomplishments, community leadership and mentoring.
Dr. Perreault has 25 years of experience in higher education as faculty and an administrator. She was an assistant professor of history at the University of Central Arkansas before joining Salisbury University in Maryland, where she served as department chair and moved through the academic ranks to become a professor and later the associate provost. Before coming to Towson University, she was provost at SUNY Buffalo State College.
Dr. Perreault received a B.A. in History from Lawrence University in 1990 and a Ph.D. in Colonial American History from the College of William and Mary in 1997.