Updated 4/3 at 7:58 p.m.
State Representatives Malcolm Kenyatta, Donna Bullock and Danilo Burgos introduced legislation Monday that would add additional state-appointed lawmakers to Temple University’s Board of Trustees in hopes of increasing oversight as the university encounters safety, leadership changes and declines in enrollment.
If passed, the bill would give the governor, the State Senate’s president pro tempore and the speaker of the State House of Representatives one more appointment to the Board, according to a press release from the House Democratic Communications Office.
“I love Temple and I want it to succeed, but that will never come at the expense of me speaking honestly to the challenges of the university,” said Kenyatta, a 2012 public communications alumnus, in the press release. “Every year the General Assembly makes critical investments into Temple, and with that must come additional oversight, particularly in light of the intersecting issues it must face.”
Temple will review the legislation and continue to collaborate with the General Assembly and governor on the interests of the university and the state, wrote Deirdre Childress Hopkins, a university spokesperson, in a statement to The Temple News.
The legislation comes as Temple continues to grapple with safety struggles, including the fatal shooting of Sgt. Christopher Fitzgerald on Feb. 18, and the resignation of former Temple President Jason Wingard on March 31. The representatives also state Temple’s declining enrollment as a reason for the proposed intervention.
Temple is a state-related university meaning they receive support from the state, including financial appropriations.
“I believe it is essential to increase the number of state-appointed members to the Temple University Board of Trustees in order to protect the welfare of the university,” Burgos said in the release. “The board of trustees have a critical responsibility, to ensure the best stewardship decisions. This also will go hand in hand with another important component in this equation: accountability.”
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