In returning to his role as Temple’s President, Richard Englert, who has served in 17 different roles at Temple within the span of 45 years, was a clear choice to fill the vacancy in the presidential office, according to top university administrators.
Englert, who previously served as president from 2016-21 before retiring, was once again appointed to the role by the Board of Trustees on Sept. 26 following President JoAnne Epps’ sudden passing on Sept. 19.
Temple officials believe Englert’s familiarity with the university and openness to talking to stakeholders will make the presidential decision-making process much easier as he leads the university for the next six to nine months while the Presidential Search Advisory Committee prepares to recommend a permanent president to the Board of Trustees in Spring 2024.
“He knows the university backward and forwards as well as anyone and he approaches his leadership with a very mission-oriented, community-oriented and caring style,” said Provost Gregory Mandel.
As Temple moves forward in its search for the university’s next permanent leader, the Board of Trustees has taken away “temporary” or “interim” from Englert’s title.
”When I deal with people outside [the university], that is extremely important that they know they’re talking to the president,” Englert said. “So, I’ve made the commitment. I’ll be president until they identify the next president. It’s almost like, think of me as a president who’s announced my retirement.”
While the interim position has all the authority that a permanent appointment has, someone in this position often focuses on keeping the institution on track rather than making long-term commitments, Mandel said. It can be a “balancing act,” he added.
“I know that [Englert] is someone who will take that role seriously, but also recognize that there are some decisions that we need to make immediately,” Mandel said. “If there’s anything that we can do to continue to strengthen efforts around public safety, to attend to the support both academic and or otherwise, that we provide to students to work on other matters involving the university.”
Englert has been very collaborative including during his last run as president from 2016-21, said Ken Kaiser, senior vice president and chief operating officer.
“It’s his style to get advice, seek other people’s opinions and get as much information as possible before making a decision,” Kaiser said. “So I see him continuing that collaboration.”
Englert understands there are different people around him as he returns as president and he has to learn and familiarize himself with the university’s current environment and challenges, but the role of the president remains unchanged, he said.
“Temple people are Temple people,” Englert said. “Temple’s mission is Temple’s mission: serving students, outstanding research, all those things stay the same. Different actors at certain times, different people come in, et cetera, but the basic mission is timeless.”
While in office, Englert is attempting to continue Epps’ legacy and mission for the university.
Englert and Epps worked together for more than 30 years at Temple, and for his remaining tenure as president, Englert plans to focus on two central university issues that Epps prioritized: enrollment and safety.
During her time as president, Epps got the university going in the right direction on her enrollment and safety priorities, Englert said. The university began focusing on enrollment when Jose Aviles, the new vice provost of enrollment management, started his position on May 1 and initiated a program aimed at creating a more intensive recruiting strategy.
Englert also highlighted safety advancements made on campus in the last year, spurred by a campus safety audit conducted by former Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey and 21CP Solutions.
Temple’s Department of Public Safety has upgraded almost 500 security cameras, added cameras to Code Blue Emergency Phones and increased foot patrols in the university’s patrol zone. The cameras have played a part in multiple investigations during the Fall Semester.
Englert also wants to continue bringing the Temple community closer together, something that he said Epps was able to do during her five-month tenure.
“Her loss was something that touched us all, so in a certain sense, we’re never going to move on beyond that,” Englert said. “But in the other sense of how we move on, I often say to people that JoAnne was not tall when it comes to height, but she had very broad shoulders and an even bigger heart, and our job is to stand on her shoulders and move things forward. Her legacy is very important.”
Temple has partnered with executive leadership search firm Spencer Stuart to pick the university’s next president. The Collective Genius, a research firm, conducted a survey and listening sessions used to create a report of what university and community stakeholders would like to see in the next president.
While Englert made it clear that he will not be involved in the selection of his successor, he hopes the next president will show traits of compassion, a commitment to making “the world” a better place and the ability to anticipate challenges that don’t exist yet, he said.
“Those are basic,” Englert said. “That’s what’s in our DNA. All of us share that. Obviously, a new president needs to embrace our mission. And our mission statement summed up in three words, opportunity, engagement, and discovery.”
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