Open Hart

Recently, The Temple News sat down with President Ann Weaver Hart for an hour-long conversation about the university and her tenure so far.

The president set aside a generous amount of her time to have a straightforward conversation where we could address and discuss numerous topics that are important to our readers. We want to thank her for being receptive to an open dialogue with us and creating a strong avenue of communication.

We aim to offer oversight for the Temple University community. We see it as our duty to report to our readers what is happening on campus, how it effects them and their education. We also strive to provide the highest quality news – news that we report ourselves. It needs to be unbiased and honest – this is the benefit of a university publication.

As a watchdog for the Temple community, we are an entity that President Hart should keep on her list of priorities. As president of the university, it would be in her best interest to keep close relations with student groups. We think regular meetings with us would show how open she is about her work for the university, and her dedication to cultivating a healthy presence in the Temple community.

President Hart should meet with the student press two times each semester. President Hart upon her arrival made it known that she wanted to create a strong connection with the students. Her ideas for achieving this included having designated open office hours and a state of the university address. President Hart has not yet delivered on either of these ideas.

Meetings with The Temple News twice a semester would help to fill the void of no open office hours or state of the university address. This week, as we publish answers to vital questions concerning the university, as well as a transcription of our interviews with President Hart, she will be brought to the community in a more direct way. With her voice being delivered through quotes published in our paper, the students and faculty can develop a clearer sense of who their university president is.

There is no better way to understand President Hart’s goals and decisions than through her own words.

More frequent meetings with continually open dialogue would make President Hart a more visible figure in the Temple community. For now, we greatly appreciate her acknowledgement of the role we serve and are pleased to pass on important insight directly from President Hart.