The Board of Trustees approved four new members at its general assembly meeting Tuesday in Morgan Hall. Anthony McIntyre, Joseph Coradino, Loretta Duckworth and H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest were each elected by a unanimous vote from the board.
Lenfest, who was appointed to serve on the board by Gov. Tom Corbett, is partners with trustee Lewis Katz as owners of Interstate General Media LLC, which owns The Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com.
Katz praised his friend at the meeting, saying he was “an expert businessman, who has given through charity quietly and anonymously.”
President Neil Theobald addressed the board, announcing several new hirings and presenting statistics on Temple’s increasing diversity and student quality.
“We are the university for lower income students in Philadelphia,” Theobald said.
Theobald said Temple was close to hiring a new dean for the College of Health Professions and Social Work. He hinted that two additional hirings would be announced at the next general assembly meeting.
Also at the next meeting, Theobald said, the board will read a report by the task force on research, which was given $50 million over five years to fund commercial research projects at Temple.
The board also approved a resolution to demolish several university-owned properties on the 1500 block of North Broad Street and a deal leasing space on Cecil B. Moore Avenue to Pizza Hut.
Jim Creedon, senior vice president for construction, facilities and operations said the demolitions on North Broad Street are not to include the Broad Street Mansion.
The Board of Trustees made public their request for a 3 percent increase in state funding, which they had submitted to the state at the end of September.
Ken Kaiser, Temple’s interim chief financial officer and treasurer, said that while hopes are high for more state money, he expects another year of flat funding.
“Given the current financial environment, we would be really pleased to get that much,” Kaiser said. Temple will wait for the state to announce its budget in February before it begins lobbying for the increase, Kaiser said.
The board will hold its next meeting Dec. 10 in Morgan Hall.
Joseph Gilbride can be reached at joseph.gilbride@temple.edu.
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