This fall, Temple University can again boast about the influx of top scholars, researchers and creative minds from the world's leading institutions joining its ranks.
With the arrival of 58 new tenured and tenure-track faculty for the 2013-14 academic year, the university has now witnessed at least two dozen new senior faculty appointments each year of the past decade.
The total number of tenured and tenure track faculty members hired since Temple's faculty recruitment effort began in earnest in fall 2004 has climbed to nearly 580.
The new cohort brings with it a remarkably broad range of expertise, joining 11 different schools and colleges, with the College of Science and Technology (9), College of Liberal Arts (9) and School of Medicine (8) leading the way.
"Faculty are the heart of our university," said Temple President Neil D. Theobald, himself a new faculty member. With his wife Sheona Mackenzie, Theobald is co-teaching a one-hour, one-credit course on organizational change this semester.
"The teaching and research performed by our faculty not only transforms the lives of Temple's students, but also positively impacts the future for residents of Philadelphia and beyond, and spurs growth in the regional economy," said Theobald.
Several of the new recruits will be heading academic units or centers. Ronald Levy, an internationally-recognized scientist, will join the College of Science and Technology (CST) as professor of chemistry and director of the college's new Center of Biophysics and Computational Biology. Also joining CST are John Perdew, one of the world’s most cited physicists, as professor of physics and founding director of the Center for Materials Theory and Jody Hey as professor of biology and director of the new Center for Computational Genetics and Genomics.
Xueming Luo, who is joining the Fox School of Business and Management as a professor in the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, will direct the school's new Global Center for Big Data in Mobile Analytics.
At Temple's School of Medicine, Richard Fisher, an internationally recognized expert in lymphoma, has been recruited as Physician in Chief and Executive Vice President of the Hospital of the Fox Chase Cancer Center and professor of medicine, and Susan Fisher, an epidemiologist and biostatistician, has been named founding chair of a new Department of Clinical Science and professor of pharmacology.
According to university leaders, Temple's hiring boom has been made possible by a constellation of factors. Enrollment increases since 2000 have spurred a need for more instructors and led to an investment in faculty. In addition, the retirement of a large number of faculty members hired in the 1960s and 70s — the years following Temple's designation as a state-related institution in the Commonwealth system of Higher Education — has created the number of vacancies.
Meredith Broussard
New position: Assistant professor, Department of Journalism
Last stop: University of Pennsylvania
What attracted me to Temple: “Temple students are terrific, and Temple’s School of Media and Communication is a regional powerhouse. The Philadelphia media market is the fourth-largest nationwide, and Temple graduates are sparking innovation at every level of the media industry. In the Department of Journalism, I appreciate that my fellow faculty members are leaders in journalism research, education and practice.”
Jody Hey
New position: Professor, Department of Biology; Director, Center for Computational Genetics and Genomics
Last stop: Rutgers University
What attracted me to Temple: "I am excited about the opportunity to start a new research center. The new Center for Computational Genetics and Genomics will be a gathering point for a lot of great collaborative research and education at the interface between computational methods and the growing database of genome data."
Xueming Luo
New position: Professor, Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management; Director, Global Center on Big Data and Analytics
Last stop: University of Texas at Arlington
What attracted me to Temple: "I am looking forward to leading Temple's initiative on big data and analytics. My hope is to forge strategic partnerships with the world’s largest mobile service providers in Asia, Europe, Americas and beyond. This Global Center on Big Data and Analytics will also nurture a team of prolific researchers from leading international universities."
Latosha Traylor
New position: Assistant professor, Department of Criminal Justice
Last stop: University of Illinois at Chicago
What attracted me to Temple: "Temple's Criminal Justice Department has a stellar reputation for producing innovative, multi-disciplinary, relevant research and maintaining a high-quality academic program. Working at Temple provides me with the opportunity to bridge my scholarly interests concerning the far-reaching effects of incarceration on families with my commitment to working with a diverse student population at an urban, public university."