Steve Charles, SMC ’80, the namesake of the School of Media and Communication’s first individually supported donor-endowed academic chair, has been elected to Temple University’s Board of Trustees.

“I have always believed in Temple’s founding mission of accessibility and educational excellence,” said Charles, elected a trustee at the board’s Dec. 13 meeting.

Late last year, Charles donated $2 million—the largest one-time gift in School of Media and Communication history—to establish the Steve Charles Chair in Media, Cities and Solutions, which will support and study a solutions-based approach to journalism and media, aimed specifically at making a positive difference in urban environments such as North Philadelphia.

Establishing a chair that could have this sort of community impact was especially important to Charles, who after transferring to Temple took a particular interest in urban problems and solutions.

He graduated from Temple with a degree in radio, television and film and founded immixGroup, a firm that helps technology companies do business with the federal government.

In addition to establishing the faculty chair, Charles created the Steve Charles Endowed Scholarship Fund, which is open to School of Media and Communication freshmen with financial need and an interest in studying business and entrepreneurship.

“At the highest level, I’m just so happy about my involvement with Temple,” Charles said recently. “The idea of providing affordable, can-do education that has a liberal arts orientation, but is also relevant to employers’ needs, is just a magical mix. It’s great to see Temple leading and being able to do things that we all know are possible. I’m happy to be contributing towards Temple’s future as one of the university’s philanthropic leaders.”

His term as a university trustee extends through October 2020. Temple’s Board of Trustees is comprised of 36 voting members, 24 of whom are elected and 12 of whom are appointed by state officials. Recent additions to the board include Sandra Harmon-Weiss, CLA ’71, MED ’74, and Michael H. Reed, CLA ’69. 

—Brandon Lausch