Temple University’s Board of Trustees voted to ratify the university’s contract with Temple Association of University Professionals at its meeting Tuesday.
The Board also approved the start of renovations to Ritter Hall and the third floor of Pearson and McGonigle halls, as well as funding for the third phase of the Anderson and Gladfelter renovation project.
Additionally, the Board approved several changes to academic programs, named spaces and scholarships throughout the university.
TAUP
The Board voted unanimously to ratify the university’s contract with TAUP.
“I feel great about it,” said Mitchell Morgan, chairman of the Board. “And it was great that we were able to enter into an agreement where both sides are happy, and the most important thing is that there be no disruption and that our students continue to be educated.”
“It’s great both sides were able to come together after tough negotiations,” said Steve Newman, TAUP’s president. “There’s a lot of new language that sets up new processes around job security and around student evaluations that need to be enforced.”
Members of the union voted to ratify the contract on Dec. 13 after the university administration and union reached a tentative agreement on Nov. 26. Faculty had been without a contract since Oct. 15.
The new contract contains raises for full-time faculty, changes the way that student feedback forms are used to evaluate faculty and raises the cost of health care for full-time faculty and staff.
FACILITIES
The Board also approved approximately $2.1 million in funding to begin renovations to Ritter Hall. The project, which will consist of renovations to faculty and staff offices, is aimed at making the building more “open” and allowing more natural light to flow in, said Dozie Ibeh, the university’s associate vice president for project delivery.
“The building footprint is set, so we can’t change where the stairs or elevator are,” Ibeh said. “But as much as possible, to kind of modernize.”
The project is expected to last five years, Ibeh said, and is currently in its design phase.
Additionally, the Board approved $580,000 in funding for the renovation of the third floor of Pearson and McGonigle halls. The project will consist of adding a larger weight room and transforming the current weight room into a student longue, among other additions, Ibeh said.
Renovations in Pearson and McGonigle halls will begin immediately, Ibeh said. Construction is expected to be finalized by the middle of the spring semester.
The Board also approved $3.2 million in funding for the regrading and repaving of Pollett Walk near Anderson and Gladfelter halls as well as the addition of an archway at 11th Street and Polett Walk, among other additions marking the third phase in the buildings’ renovation project.
The Anderson and Gladfelter renovation will be complete by the start of Fall 2020, Ibeh said.
ACADEMICS
Beginning next fall, the Fox School of Business will operate a 30-credit Master in Management program for college graduates with non-business degrees who wish to pursue careers in business.
The Board also approved the creation of a concentration in Arts Management, focused on the development side of the fine arts industry, within the Master of Arts in Art History in the Tyler School of Art and Architecture.
The College of Science and Technology will establish a Bachelor of Science in Genomic Medicine, focused on genomics, evolutionary biology and informatics, beginning next fall.
NAMED SPACES AND SCHOLARSHIPS
The Board will allow Temple to accept the The Anne and Allan Edmunds Collection, consisting of historical records, personal papers and correspondence, photographs and original artworks into the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection.
Additionally, the green roof of the Charles Library will be named the Frederic S. Shroeder and Family Green Roof, courtesy of a $500,000 gift from Sandra Cadwalader, a 1974 Beasley School of Law alumnus.
The Board also approved the naming of The Parliament, a student lounge at Temple University Japan, after longtime donors Koji and Kim Shimada.
The bridge that connects Speakman Hall to 1810 Liacouras Walk will be named after Charles Klatskin, a 1956 School of Pharmacy alumnus, and his wife Lynn, which the Board approved.
The Board also approved the creation of an endowed chair in the Beasley School of Law for a distinguished faculty member. The chair will be funded by a $2 million gift from Richard H. Walker, a 1975 Beasley School of Law alumnus and the former director of the Division of Enforcement at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Additionally, the Board approved the creation of a $500,000 fund for renovations of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders in the College of Public Health. The fund will be named for Ellen Schwartz, a 1969 speech-language pathology alumna and the former director of speech-language pathology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
The Board also approved the acceptance of a $250,000 gift from the Louis and Bessie Stein Foundation to establish an endowed fund to support the Leadership Academy, a Temple-run leadership skills training program for student-athletes.
The university will create a fund to support research in the Department of Oral Health Sciences at the Kornberg School of Dentistry named after Cary Klimen, a 1966 Kornberg School of Dentistry alumnus, the Board approved.
The Board will also allow the School of Pharmacy to accept a Mass Spectrometer, a device that can examine the structure of proteins, from TEVA Pharmaceuticals. The machine is one of only 200 in the U.S.
TEMPLE STUDENT GOVERNMENT
In her speech to the Board, Student Body President Francesca Capozzi touted TSG’s accomplishments during the fall semester, including their planning of the third annual Sexual Assault Prevention Week, the second annual Campus Hunger Awareness Week and several community events.
“Our administration ran on a platform that strived to celebrate and include and transform our students,” Capozzi said.
Next semester, TSG is planning to host a self-defense class for students, continue its Good Morning Commuter initiative and host a week of “fun” events in collaboration with Main Campus Program Board.
The details of TSG’s upcoming projects are still in the works, Capozzi told The Temple News.
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