As Temple officially welcomes John Fry as its 15th president, students and faculty most strongly believe his main areas of focus should be toward public safety, increased communication and athletics, according to a poll conducted by The Temple News between Oct. 26 and Nov. 3.
Fry took his place in office on Nov. 1 after being unanimously appointed to the position by the Board of Trustees, replacing former President Richard Englert, who sat as interim president after JoAnne Epps passed unexpectedly in September 2023.
In a video released by the Office of the President on his first day, Fry stated his main priorities for Temple lies in five sections – campus and neighborhood safety, enrollment, academics, innovation and philanthropy.
“This is a university that is built upon access and excellence,” Fry said in the video. “It is built upon the notion that every student regardless of their background, should have the opportunity to pursue the world class education that defines this university.”
The Temple News’ poll, which surveyed 104 students and faculty members, asked participants what they want to see from Fry’s presidency. The majority, at 48% of respondents, stated that they hope Fry will work toward strengthening community relations.
When it comes to his ability to lead Temple, 40% of respondents are either fairly or very confident in his leadership, while 35% said they were indifferent.
The other most common concerns from survey participants included public safety, the state of athletic programs and tuition. Many hope to see Fry immersing himself into student experiences on campus and in the community.
COMMUNITY
Fry has been instrumental in multiple initiatives at Drexel, the most well-known being his “cradle to career” program. The program was created in 2016 and works with seven schools and other neighborhoods in West Philadelphia to bring expanded education resources to the families in the area, which was named the “Promise Neighborhood” by the United States Department of Education.
“To me, [the “cradle to career” program is] really related to the Good Neighbor Iinitiative that we’ve been working on here at Temple,” said Ray Epstein, president of Temple Student Government. “I’m kind of excited to see how transferable those skills are to such a similar initiative. It seems like an area he’s really passionate about.”
Temple Division of Student Affairs’ Good Neighbor Initiative aims to make students more aware of the community outside of campus. The initiative includes a set of steps to be a good neighbor to the community, including engaging in conversations with non-Temple residents, immersing themselves in their neighborhoods and cleaning up after themselves.
Fry has led many different projects in the University City neighborhood, including a $3.5 billion development into Schuylkill Yards in 2019. A few survey participants expressed concerns about Fry’s presidency, believing the same will happen to Temple. Many responded to the poll stating gentrification in the North Philadelphia area should end.
“No Temple expansion [or] building into surrounding neighborhoods,” a survey respondent wrote. “Instead focus on investment and involving Temple students in surrounding areas, for example after-school programs on campus and around. Temple should also provide and support local small businesses around the university.”
PUBLIC SAFETY
About 20% of respondents stated they believe safety should be Fry’s top priority, which he has already stated as one of his key focuses.
Fry wants to work closely with Temple’s Department of Public Safety by shadowing patrols and learning about the different areas of campus, he told The Temple News in July.
“The other thing I would do [after coordinating with public safety] is make sure, either through student government or some other mechanism, that there are regular interactions with students in terms of how they feel about the safety of campus, and in particular, what parts of the campus and neighborhood do they feel least safe,” Fry said.
DPS worked with 21CP Solutions, a group of public safety specialists, last year to create safety initiatives to mitigate the consistent concerns of the Temple community. Safety programs provided by DPS include walking escorts, the FLIGHT nighttime shuttle service and TUAlerts, an emergency notification system for immediate threats.
“I think [Fry should focus on] just generally improving campus experience, feeling safe,” said Clare Halvorsen, a senior marketing major. “Taking more initiative in redirecting traffic through campus and encouraging cars to not come through [campus].”
CAMPUS IMPROVEMENTS
Survey participants also expressed hopes for improvements in multiple areas of the campus experience like food options, financial aid and student athletics.
Survey participants displayed a mixed set of opinions on the state of sports at Temple — especially football. Some surveyed individuals stated that Temple should build its own stadium, while others want the program to be completely shut down.
In 2018, Temple planned to file a submission to build a stadium off-campus at Broad and Norris streets. Some proponents for Temple’s stadium in TTN’s survey argued this would increase student turnout, while others did not want any more money going into the Athletic Department.
Fry has experience with college sports prior to Temple as the chair for the NCAA Division III Presidents Council, as well as a national organization for squash.
“It is the reality that we face right now and I would want to make sure that, after understanding the state of the program, one of the kinds of things that we can do to bolster the investments where we think we have a chance to compete better,” Fry told The Temple News.
When it comes to how Name, Image and Likeness has impacted college athletics, Fry told The Temple News that it’s “a painful thing to watch,” but acknowledged it’s the nature of modern college sports. He said he plans to make a concerted effort to reach out to alumni and other benefactors to make the case of why Temple Athletics is worthy of their investment.
Fry said he also wants to be connected to the student advisory committee. His focus is to understand the experience of student athletes as well as what investments will help their programs become more competitive.
Participants in TTN’s poll also stressed increasing food options on campus, like re-opening the Morgan Dining Hall, which closed suddenly before the Fall 2023 semester. Temple has one all-you-can-eat option as well as two food courts, one in Morgan Hall that is closed on the weekends.
“I don’t want them to keep raising tuition but obviously, that’s gonna happen still because of inflation and what not,” said Fiona Kahn, a sophomore elementary education major. “But other than that, I just want there to be better food options. I’m a vegetarian and sometimes it can be hard to find some stuff to eat.”
STUDENT ACTIVISM
Fry enters Temple during a time of many changes. The university’s first year class enrollment was at its highest this fall since pre-pandemic years — while other universities are still seeing declines. At the same time, Temple University Resident Assistants are waiting to be acknowledged by the university after setting a self-imposed deadline, and Temple’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine are under interim suspension after a career fair protest in September.
Like many other university presidents across the country, Fry has received backlash from students about his handling of a pro-Palestine encampment in April. Some respondents in The Temple News’ poll voiced similar stances. Drexel hosts study-abroad programs to Israel and Fry visited the country in 2011 to meet with their leaders and discuss high education support.
“We also stand in support and solidarity with our friends and colleagues at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, located just 25 miles from the Gaza border, with whom we have a close and thriving partnership,” Fry wrote in an Oct. 2023 statement to the Drexel community.
TURA hopes that with Fry as president, their demands will be heard and understood. The resident assistants filed for recognition from the university Sept. 30, creating a deadline of Oct. 4 for Temple to respond. Temple is still reviewing their request for recognition, a university spokesperson told The Temple News in October.
Drexel’s RAs filed to unionize this past March and in April. They are currently in the fourth month of negotiations for a tentative contract with Drexel.
“I thought that it was very interesting that he said that he’s committed to listening to students, faculty, staff, alumni, neighbors,” said Mario Rodriguez Canuto, a senior media studies and production major and organizer at TURA. “I was specifically thinking the students and staff, given that as a [resident assistant], we are technically a part of the staff that works for Temple. Most importantly, we’re students and we have been waiting to be listened to by Temple for almost a month.”
Fry said that he will foster relationships with students during his time as president and increase student feedback from different channels, including TSG.
“I know that after me and Kiyah [Hamilton], the vice president [of TSG], met with Drexel Student Government, they spoke about how accessible John Fry was for them,” Epstein said. “I’m really excited to have somebody we can lean on and provide information about student life to.”
Evelyn Blower contributed reporting.
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