If you ask Richard Englert to tell you the most devastating news he’s ever received, he would be able to give you an answer pretty quickly.
The afternoon of Sept. 19, 2023 began as a typical Tuesday for Englert. It was another day doing what he loved most — teaching a General Education Intellectual Heritage course to undergraduate students at Temple. But once he wrapped up class and his students dispersed, a group of university officials came to his classroom to deliver “the worst possible news.”
President JoAnne Epps, who Englert had worked with for decades, had collapsed at an on-campus memorial service for Charles L. Blockson, the curator emeritus of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection at Temple, and was pronounced dead at Temple University Hospital shortly after.
“It’s still painful,” Englert told The Temple News in an interview just days before his final day as Temple’s president. “Just absolutely devastating, the worst news possible. I went down to the hospital, the police were there and everything and they let me in and provided me an opportunity to be alone with her for a few minutes. That was special.”
Epps’ death came at a time when Temple was still recovering from increased public scrutiny following the tumultuous tenure of former President Jason Wingard. The university leaned on her to right the ship while the Board of Trustees launched a search for the next full-time president.
After Epps died, the Board unanimously made the choice to tap Englert as Temple’s president until a full-time hire was made. In a time where the university desperately needed someone to do the job — and do it right — Englert was the no-brainer choice.
“Dick Englert quite simply has always been a pillar of stability for Temple,” said Board of Trustees Chairman Mitchell Morgan. “The board and I knew that he would be a steady hand when we needed exactly that, to allow us to get through the search process that was underway. He provided precisely the calm and cool leadership we were looking for.”
On Thursday, Englert will wrap up his third tenure as Temple’s president by handing the keys to the newly-hired John Fry. Englert originally served as the university’s president from 2016-21 before retiring and stepping into the role of chancellor. Now, more than a year after Temple counted on him to guide it through one of its worst periods, Englert is finally stepping down as president — for real this time.
“I’ve been so busy that I haven’t really had time to sit back and think about what’s going on,” Englert said. “I love this position, I love Temple, but I’ve done it three times and my wife deserves some of my time and my two-year-old grandson – I have not spent as much time with him as I should. Plus, it’s just time to pass the torch.”
Englert was given the near-impossible task of guiding an already struggling university through a period of mourning following Epps’ passing — a task deemed so daunting that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro hand wrote Englert a letter thanking him for stepping up when the second largest university in the commonwealth needed him.
One thing that became very evident to Englert as soon as he returned as president was the need to do everything in his power to keep the university, its students and faculty together as one as it navigated its most recent hardship. But he credits Epps, posthumously, for keeping everyone level-headed and unified in the months following her death.
“What happened was, JoAnne was always very good at bringing people together,” Englert said. “And [her death] brought people together. I saw it everywhere. Across the campus, even when you saw units who you didn’t think would get along together, everyone was out showing their sorrow and their support. So one of my priorities was to keep the university together and focus on what JoAnne’s priorities would have been.”
Even after Epps’ death became a bit less fresh, Englert was still tasked with leading a major university at arguably the most challenging time to do so. Political turmoil from the Israel-Hamas war in the Middle East, and questionable, often criticized responses, resulted in three Ivy League presidents resigning within the last calendar year.
Englert expected the year ahead to be a challenge when he stepped into the role last September, but he could have never expected the civil unrest that would come to college campuses across the region. He says his key to navigating any hot-button issue as a leader is to take a step back and listen to everyone.
“We have a good-hearted university,” Englert said. “Our students are good hearted and they care, and that is wonderful. I’ve seen that for many years — people get emotional and that’s a good thing. But I’ve found [our students] very respectful so I think Temple University is a unique university because of our values, because of our mission.”
But for as much as Englert has been characteristic of what Temple has become under his leadership, and for all his guidance during a distressing time, he essentially stumbled into higher education by accident.
Englert started his lifelong journey in education as an elementary school teacher. He came to Temple in 1976 with no experience in higher ed but was quickly hired as an assistant dean for the College of Education. It was former Education Dean Jay Scribner who recruited him following their time working together on a federal project at UCLA.
Across his almost 49 years at Temple, Englert has served in 17 different roles, including the head dean of the College of Education, provost, acting athletic director and vice president for administration.
“We’re all deeply grateful for Dick’s unwavering dedication to Temple over the past 50 years,” said Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Ken Kaiser. “Under his leadership, Temple has been transformed into a prestigious R1 national university, with a world-class health system. On a personal level, I am profoundly thankful for the invaluable lessons I’ve learned from him over the years, but more than that, I treasure the friendship we’ve built.”
Englert knew hardly anything about Temple when he first arrived, and admitted that he thought about leaving a couple of times throughout his journey. But he never did — and he credits the people and the overall mission of the university as the reason he stuck around all those years, even turning down attractive offers elsewhere.
“I figured I would stay just a couple years,” Englert said. “But right away, I fell in love with this place. When you think about Temple University, you think not only of the university but you think about all of our health systems and all the other components of the university. We do just across the board excellent work engaging with our local communities and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I’ve always just been so in awe.”
Englert went on to lead Temple through some of its most transformative years. And during his almost 50 years, he’s watched the campus go from what he called a “commuter campus” to a university that offers the full-fledged “college experience.”
When Temple was expanding its North Philadelphia campus in the early 90s, a talking point began to spread that the university should relocate from Main Campus to its Ambler, Pennsylvania satellite campus to allow itself more room to build.
While he admitted it would be easier to expand in a less dense location, Englert was adamant the move would be a massive mistake simply because “that’s not Temple,” and the idea was quickly put to rest.
“We are a city-based university with a public mission so the investment will always be here,” Englert said. “This place just exudes opportunity, bringing in students and giving them an opportunity. It serves our outreach mission by engaging with the local community and communities around.”
Community members in the North Central neighborhood have noted a complicated relationship in recent years, something Englert has acknowledged. But he also said he is proud of the strides the university has made under his leadership and is optimistic it will become even stronger in the future.
During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, former Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney reached out to Englert to ask if Temple would be willing to allow the city to use The Liacouras Center as an emergency COVID hospital after he was already turned down by two other institutions.
Without hesitation, Englert immediately said yes.
“When Philadelphia needs something, we step in,” Englert said. “We didn’t even ask about a financial situation or whatnot or ask what the terms would be. So we set up the COVID center and a number of our doctors came and volunteered at the site. It was just beautifully done.”
No one knows Temple like Englert — and he is convinced that Fry was a “grand slam” hire by the Board of Trustees’ presidential search committee. Englert has spent the last few weeks meeting regularly with Fry to equip him with the tools to succeed and provide a seamless transition.
Strengthening community relations will be one of Fry’s most important tasks as he prepares to take office on Friday. After a challenging couple of years for the university, the Board, more than ever, needed to make the correct hire and finally secure a committed, long-term president. Englert believes the university found that and then some.
“[Fry] understands Philadelphia,” Englert said. “He’s very well connected, he was once the chairman of the Board of the Chamber of Commerce. He’s a quick study and he really listens. He wants to learn, he wants to understand and we’ve had many conversations about how Temple works.”
This isn’t Englert’s first rodeo when it comes to stepping down as a university president, but this time it just feels right, he said. He feels like the university is in good hands and is optimistic about where it’s headed.
But for now, Englert can’t help but feel anything but gratitude for the university that has given him so much.
“I know from many years of experience, from many different positions just how valuable all the different aspects of this university are,” Englert said. “For me, it’s teamwork and partnership. So I want to say to everybody, thank you. Thank you for the teamwork. Success is a team sport, without a doubt. And it requires all of us working together.”
Then, Englert closed his final interview as Temple’s president with arguably his most infamous line.
“Thank you everyone, for all that you do.”
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