Dr. Joan Sylvia Tilghman

Listen to this article

Dr. Joan Sylvia Tilghman

Interim Dean
Coppin State University

What product or service do you and your company provide?

Coppin State University is a public, liberal arts, historically black institution established in 1900. CSU meets the educational needs of its urban population and improves the community through educational access. CSU’s mission is to serve a multi-generational student population and provide educational opportunities while promoting lifelong learning. The university fosters leadership, social responsibility, civic and community engagement, cultural diversity and inclusion and economic development. Coppin is committed to providing educational access and diverse opportunities for all students while emphasizing its unique role in educating residents of Metropolitan Baltimore and first-generation college students.

Professionally, what do you consider your most significant accomplishment to be?

I authored the proposal for the university’s only doctoral degree, which is nursing. The inaugural cohort was admitted as postmasters’ students in May 2015. The pathways now include a postmasters’ degree pathway and a baccalaureate to a doctoral pathway. The program has graduated 26 students thus far and is the only such degree program at an HBCU in Maryland and one of six at an HBCU in the United States.

In what ways have you been involved in mentoring?

I have and continue to mentor a student I met at a women’s retreat. I began a conversation with her, and she discussed how she wanted to be a nurse. We were strangers at the time. I was able to provide her with textbooks at no cost to her and we established communications that continued throughout her educational journey. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing and then a master’s degree and has earned a doctoral degree.

This is an honoree profile from The Daily Record's Top 100 Women awards. Information for this profile was sourced from the honoree's application for the award.