Posted February 10, 2015

Temple community “toasts” Russell Conwell

Ryan S. Brandenberg

On Feb. 17, the Temple community will come together to toast Russell Conwell, Temple's founder and first president.

In its 131-year history, Temple University has grown from a small night school to an internationally renowned hub for teaching, scholarship and research.

Temple Toast celebrations

On campus, a pop-up birthday party with traditional party games, birthday cake and party favors will take place in the Howard Gittis Student Center lobby from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The party will also be broadcast from Temple’s student radio station, WHIP.

Other on-campus events will be hosted by the Beasley School of Law, the Fox School of Business, the School of Medicine, the Kornberg School of Dentistry, the College of Science and Technology, the College of Education, and the Temple Student Philanthropy Committee.

Off campus, Temple Toasts are taking place at alumni events in Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, Hartford, Connecticut, and Tokyo.

There will be a Temple Toast at Temple’s Student and Alumni Networking Night, and Owls@Work, a new partnership program connecting Temple alumni employed at major companies in Philadelphia, will be celebrating with Lincoln Financial, Comcast, PNC, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young.

The Temple Owl Club is offering exclusive prizes in conjunction with the Temple Toast—the first 50 people who pledge $110 for membership on this day will be entered into a grand prize drawing of two VIP courtside experiences.

This month, as part of a new initiative known as the Temple Toast to Russell Conwell, the entire university community—alumni, students, faculty and staff, parents, and friends—will unite online and at events around the world to celebrate the 172nd birthday of Temple’s founder and first president.

Although Conwell’s official birthday is Feb. 15, the Temple Toast will start online at midnight Eastern time on Feb. 16–17 and run until 3 a.m. on Feb. 18. The day of online giving has a goal of reaching 700 or more donors.

In addition to the online giving campaign, Temple Toast events are being held across the world.

“The Temple Toast is an opportunity for the Temple community to come together, celebrate the university’s history and demonstrate their Temple pride,” said Alysea McDonald, associate director of annual campaigns for Institutional Advancement.

Participants can follow the festivities on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #TempleToast. Donors who post photos and use #TempleToast have a chance to win Temple prizes.

-Erica Brooke Fajge

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