Editorial: Trust in the board?

It is important for our readers to become familiar with the people behind the names, who often donate large sums of money and receive large power in return.

They are car salesmen, newspaper executives, famous comedians, judges, lawyers and businessmen. Many of them are not even Temple graduates, but their names will be most familiar to students because they adorn our classroom buildings, walkways and residence halls— they are the Foxes, Alters, Morgans and Whites and they are all members of the Board of Trustees, the often secretive organization that makes some of the largest decisions affecting Temple.

It was these people who earlier this summer unanimously voted to raise tuition 2.8 percent, who last year selected Neil Theobald to become the university’s 10th president, and in Spring 2012, when deciding on a name for the 27-story residence hall being erected on Broad Street, it was one of their own—Mitchell Morgan and his wife Hilarie— whose $5 million donation sealed their names in stone.

The board – composed of 36 voting members who are elected either by current members or appointed by city and state officials— are the behind-the-scenes force that wields the most power to affect the course of the university. In “Who are the trustees?”  on Page 1, The Temple News presents its first part in a series designed to shed light on the people who act on behalf of all students, faculty and staff.

It is important for our readers to become familiar with the people behind the names, who often donate large sums of money and receive large power in return. How do they make their money? What is their history with the university? What are their thoughts on the future of higher education? The Temple News will be publishing a series of profiles on these individuals throughout the semester answering the questions about what we feel our readers should know.

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