To celebrate Temple’s anniversary, staff, faculty, students, alumni and friends are invited to participate in a number of events throughout 2009—including Philadelphia’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, Commencement, Temple Down the Shore, and Homecoming and others — that will carry the 125th anniversary theme.

Temple University was established in 1884 as an informal response to a great need for educational opportunity in Philadelphia. That year, Temple founder Russell Conwell, a charismatic orator, lawyer and minister in North Philadelphia, began tutoring ambitious local working men in languages, math, logic and rhetoric. Temple College—as it was chartered in 1888—was a symbol of the city’s and nation’s growth, and a direct response to the social and technological changes that made a strong education an essential factor in creating a better life.

Almost immediately, the college demonstrated its dedication to its neighbors by acquiring Samaritan Hospital—now Temple University Hospital—in 1891 to meet the medical needs of local residents. Today, Temple University Health System is the fourth largest hospital in the greater Philadelphia area, with 1,000 beds and 8,000 employees.

In 1907, the growing college was incorporated as Temple University. Over the years, Temple students, professors and graduates have contributed toward some of America’s greatest innovations, from the X-ray, to the satellite, to the heart transplant, to the personal computer. The university has been a leader in academics, including becoming the first co-educational medical college in Pennsylvania to award MDs to women in 1901, and establishing the first black studies doctorate in 1988. Its international campuses and programs have broken new ground: The Rome Campus is one of the longest-standing study-abroad programs in Italy; the Japan Campus in Tokyo is the first foreign university to operate in Japan; and the Rule of Law programs in China include the first foreign law degree program approved by both the Chinese Ministry of Education and the American Bar Association.

Today, Temple is a comprehensive public research university with more than 37,000 students and a distinguished faculty in 17 schools and colleges, making it the 28th largest university in the United States and the nation’s fifth largest center of professional education. It is the city of Philadelphia’s third largest employer, and its direct expenditures generate $2.7 billion for the region’s economy each year.

Perhaps most aligned with its founding mission and spirit is the Temple community’s volunteer outreach. Spanning the globe and almost every discipline, 185 university-sponsored programs encourage students, faculty and staff to take part in cleanups, local and international spring break immersion trips, medical programs, tax preparation, legal help and much more.

To commemorate the university’s 125 years of innovation, service, leadership and achievement, an anniversary web site—available from Temple’s home page—will highlight special events and celebrations, as well as an interactive historical timeline, insight into Temple traditions and facts, opportunities for the Temple community to share its stories and photos, and more.

Read upcoming issues of the Temple Times for details and ways to participate in Temple’s 125th anniversary celebrations in 2009.