The Board of Trustees formally elected Mitchell Morgan as chair of the board, established a committee focused on research and approved $30 million in borrowing at their public session on Tuesday.
Morgan, the namesake of Morgan Hall, replaced former Board Chairman Patrick O’Connor, who presided over the Board for a decade.
The Board also expressed formal appreciation for Dennis Alter, the namesake of the Fox School of Business’ Alter Hall and former trustee who abruptly resigned from the Board in March.
In his remarks, Englert praised Temple researchers for their discoveries in HIV and Alzheimer’s research. In August, researchers at Lewis Katz School of Medicine successfully eliminated the replication of the AIDS virus from live animals, and discovered that a high-fat diet for mothers-to-be protects against Alzheimer’s disease later for their children.
Englert also emphasized the importance of financial support from donors and trustees, which he said is making a difference both at Temple and in the community. Englert thanked trustee Steve Charles and other donors for their support.
“I want to thank you for the life changing impact you have made for our students, and the future of this city,” Englert said. “We are committed to raising more funding to make a difference for our students, our faculty, and our community.”
Thanks to the generosity of trustees, Temple was able to donate backpacks, school supplies, and 100 laptops to Dunbar Elementary and George Washington Carver High School of Engineering and Science, Englert added.
He ended his remarks by playing a video from the Good Neighbor initiative and encouraging students to keep forging relationships with their neighbors.
ACADEMICS
The Board approved the split of the Master’s program in Ceramics/Glass into two separate programs.
Additionally, the Master of Education in Educational Psychology and Learning Technology will be terminated. The program has not accepted applications since 2013-14 and currently does not have any students enrolled, according to the board’s agenda.
Finally, the Lewis Katz School of Medicine will establish a second endowed chair in Alzheimer’s research with a $1.25 million pledge from the Scott Richards North Star Charitable Foundation. Phillip Richards, who chairs the foundation, is a trustee on the board. The foundation’s gift last year created the first endowed chair and the Alzheimer’s Center in the medical school, according to a university release.
NAMED SPACES AND SCHOLARSHIPS
Timothy and Holly Coughlin, who serve on the university’s Leadership Council and the Alumni Admissions Advisory Council, donated $900,000 last year toward renovations in Pearson-McGonigle Hall. They are pledging $350,000 to help renovate the university’s Olympic Sport locker room in Pearson-McGonigle. The Coughlins will have their name on any new or renovated athletic facility the university decides to build, which would include the proposed football stadium, the Board approved.
The Board also approved that professional development services for students within the the Fox School of Business’ Department of Risk Management and Actuarial Science will now be housed under the Spencer Foundation Center for Student Professional Development, named after the Spencer Educational Foundation, which provides internships to Fox students.
The Lewis Katz School of Medicine will establish a $250,000 endowed scholarship named after Allen Myers, a former professor of rheumatology, the Board approved. Additionally, an office inside the Simulation Institute in the Medical Education and Research Building at the school of medicine will be named after emergency medicine physician Dr.Steven Ryave, who received his medical degree from Temple, in recognition of his $30,000 gift.
The Center For Professional Development in the College of Liberal Arts will be named for alumna Joyce Salzberg in recognition of her $1-million pledge, the Board approved.
FACILITIES
The Board approved $1 million in improvements to the entrance lobbies, common areas and hallways in the Biology Life Sciences building on 12th Street near Pollett Walk. The building will receive new ceilings, lighting and paint, among other changes.
TEMPLE STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Student Body President Francesca Capozzi, in her remarks to the Board, discussed the success of TSG’s third annual Sexual Assault Prevention Week last month, as well as TSG’s block clean-up that took place in late September. Capozzi said TSG is planning to do monthly block clean-ups in collaboration with TUPD.
“We want to ensure that students interact with each other off campus and are respectful to their neighbors,” Capozzi told the Board.
Capozzi also noted upcoming TSG-sponsored events, like a commuter breakfast later this month and the second annual Campus Hunger Awareness Week, which will take place next month.
Capozzi concluded by announcing that TSG is creating an online caucus that will be comprised of student leaders for multicultural organizations.
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