HART NAMED PRESIDENT

The university’s Board of Trustees announced Thursday, May 4, that Ann Weaver Hart, who currently leads the University of New Hampshire, will be Temple’s first female president.Effective July 1, Hart will replace outgoing President David Adamany, who will retire June 30 after serving nearly six years as president.Hart, 57, takes the reigns at Temple amid an aggressive faculty hiring campaign, rapid expansion and booming student enrollment, spearheaded by Adamany. She comes to Temple after serving as UNH’s president since 2002.”I am looking forward to collaborating with all of my colleagues at Temple, including the faculty, deans and administrators, and getting to know its remarkable students, alumni and friends in the community,” Hart said in a statement released by the university’s communications office. “As one leader of many leaders at Temple, I see my role as working to focus on our highest aspirations and dreams, building talent and taking concerted action to help us move forward.”Temple’s recent advancements in academics, admissions, faculty recruitment and campus life are being noticed in higher education circles and in the media. I am excited to be leading Temple into a period of tremendous growth and development.”The Board’s announcement comes two days after Hart visited Main Campus to discuss her plans for Temple’s future with students, faculty and alumni. On Tuesday, Hart assured students and staff that she is committed to diversity, accessibility, academic freedom and neighborhood involvement. Reaction was resoundingly positive, especially from faculty, who were at times rankled by Adamany’s leadership style.Hart, a career academic, has served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Claremont Graduate University, near Los Angeles, and as special assistant to the president and dean of the University of Utah’s graduate school. She received both her master’s degree in history and her Ph.D. in educational administration from the University of Utah.An outsider to Philadelphia, Hart said Tuesday that she is looking forward to the challenge of managing a large, diverse institution based in one of the country’s largest cities.”Of course I need lessons,” Hart said. “I didn’t commit my life to higher education to avoid lessons.”Hart and her husband, Randy, have four daughters, two granddaughters and four grandsons.Brandon Lausch can be reached at blausch@temple.edu.