President Neil Theobald seemingly hit the ground running when he took over from Acting President Richard Englert in January. Since he was named Temple’s 10th president in August 2012, he’s spent innumerable hours meeting with administrators, faculty and students to gauge what needed to be done at the university.
Since January, he hasn’t stopped. From the appointment of Hai-Lung Dai as provost, to the unveiling of financial literacy courses intended to curb student debt, Theobald has yet to take his foot off the throttle. For an example of the persistence and devotion to maintaining a level of representative prominence both within and outside the campus borders, look no further than the weekend of March 22-24, when Theobald flew out to Dayton, Ohio, to watch the men’s basketball team win its first game of the NCAA tournament, only to fly right back for Experience Temple Day and head back out for the team’s third-round loss to Indiana.
This level of enthusiasm and his communication with The Temple News is a welcomed contrast to many administrations, but it should not stop now.
As Temple winds down its dean searches to fill vacant deanships across the university, the administration must begin to focus on not only student debt, but its relationship with the neighborhood and the future of Temple after 20/20.
The university is launching its Visualize Temple initiative, which is aimed at incorporating students into its next master plan. This inclusion of students in Temple’s post-20/20 era of planning is paramount to the university’s success in its next step of planning.
The Temple News hopes that this drive to instill greater pride in the Temple community and to define a clear identity for the university continues for the many years that lie ahead.
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