Dear Colleagues, 

As we close out the fiscal year, my optimism about Temple University and its future continues to grow. Even as higher education faces unprecedented levels of uncertainty, I know that we are equipped to overcome these challenges. And, as I shared last week, we will continue to be thoughtful and intentional in our approach as we navigate this ever-changing landscape. 

It has been an exciting spring here at Temple. Last month, we celebrated the Class of 2025 and welcomed nearly 8,500 graduates to the Temple alumni family at the 138th university-wide Commencement. We also came together for the groundbreaking of the Caroline Kimmel Pavilion for Arts and Communication, a project that will significantly advance arts and culture here at Temple and also serve our North Philadelphia community and beyond. 

I am also delighted to share that The Fox Chase Cancer Center recently received official notification from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) that the Cancer Center Support Grant, or “Core Grant,” has been renewed for another five years. This is a tremendous accomplishment, and it reaffirms Fox Chase’s status as an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, one of only 57 such centers in the United States.  

And, as you may have seen, the university is now counted among just 21 colleges and universities nationwide to receive a top designation in both research and student success in the updated 2025 release of the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. 

Over the last several months, we have made progress on several initiatives. Here is where we stand on these key efforts. 

Strategic Plan: This spring, we hosted a launch event, several town halls and listening sessions as we kicked off a significant update of our Strategic Plan. In total, hundreds of members of the Temple community attended one of our events or provided feedback online. It was terrific to see such enthusiasm and thoughtful participation, which illustrates how deeply our community cares about Temple’s future success. 

As we enter the next phase of this process, we will now have two committees leading this work. The Steering Committee—which includes representatives from schools, colleges and administrative units as well as students, alumni and community members—will study the findings, surface opportunities and test new ideas. The Executive Committee will then build on this work to identify clear goals, measurable outcomes and a new set of strategic initiatives. 

A complete timeline for the Strategic Plan as well as information on these committees can be found here. 

Organizational updates: We have begun the process of identifying successors for Senior Vice President and Provost Gregory Mandel and Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Ken Kaiser. The search committees are being assembled, and we are selecting search firms. We will be sharing an update on our progress soon. 

As I first shared in December, we established the Office of Community Impact and Civic Engagement. This spring, we celebrated the one-year anniversary of the launch of Temple’s Community Gateway. The Community Gateway and the Lenfest Center for Community Workforce Partnerships have increased collaboration across campus and helped hundreds of families in North Philadelphia.  

While the Community Gateway and the Lenfest Center are now a part of the Office of Community Impact and Civic Engagement led by Vice President Valerie Harrison, IDEAL will continue to be part of the provost’s portfolio. IDEAL continues doing the critical work of serving as a place where the unique perspectives of all students, faculty, staff and Temple’s neighbors are celebrated. Just as Temple’s mission of providing students of all backgrounds with affordable pathways to an excellent, life-changing educational experience will not change, so too will be for the role of IDEAL. 

Additionally, Equal Opportunity Compliance, the Title IX office and ADA coordinator will now be part of the Ethics and Compliance Office led by Chief Compliance Officer Susan Smith. This will include Title VI investigations as well. There is natural alignment between these units and bringing the functions into one office will strengthen training, compliance and resource coordination.  

Enrollment: We continue to make significant progress toward our goal of building back enrollment. Although the fall 2024 first-year class size increased, our overall enrollment of 30,005 is still significantly lower than it was in the fall of 2017, when the total was 40,240. This decline of nearly 10,000 students translates to a reduction of approximately $200 million in gross tuition. Our expenses, however, have not declined concurrently.  

This year, the university received 44,980 undergraduate applications, which represents a new record, and we are on track for a first-year class of over 5,000 students. Graduate applications have also increased, continuing the momentum from last year. For fall 2025, overall student enrollment is also expected to increase slightly, which is a step in the right direction given the large class that has just graduated. There is still a long way to go, but this is a great indicator that we are starting to build back the university’s enrollment.  

Budget update: Our financial outlook continues to be challenged, as we are facing a significant structural deficit that has been further complicated by uncertainty at the federal level. In April, we shared some of the immediate budget actions we were implementing and acknowledged that longer-term actions would be needed as we look to close the structural deficit. Over the past few weeks, I have held budget conferences with schools, colleges and major administrative units to review their budget priorities. As we look ahead to fiscal year 2026, every unit has been tasked with developing a plan to target a 5% reduction to their annual compensation spend. These plans are under review. To manage these shortfalls in the coming years, we are developing a multiyear financial plan that will align with the updated Strategic Plan and allow us to eliminate our structural deficit and invest in the future, especially in our academic programs. I expect to share additional details related to the budget next week.   

RCM review: The review of the Responsibility Center Management budget model continues to move forward. The Steering Committee has been meeting regularly and is working toward finalizing recommendations that balance financial sustainability with institutional priorities. More information on the review can be found here. The review will be finalized by August, and we will then work to implement a revised budget model for fiscal year 2027. 

Public Safety staffing study: Over the last few months, we have been working closely with Healy+, a nationally recognized safety consultancy, to conduct a staffing study for our Department of Public Safety. While we had hoped that it would be completed this spring, it is imperative that this study is both comprehensive and informative. Once completed, I will share the results of the study with our campus community. The study is referenced in a recent Philadelphia Inquirer article, shown here. 

Intercollegiate athletics: Last fall, we engaged Huron Consulting Group to conduct a comprehensive review of our athletics program to help best position it to thrive in the ever-changing NCAA landscape.  

Based on Huron’s review, we now have several working groups collaborating to implement recommendations around generating revenue, improving operational efficiencies and supporting student-athlete success. We will also continue to prioritize what matters most, which is graduating student-athletes and preparing them for success after Temple. During the spring semester, our student-athletes posted an impressive 3.45 GPA as a group. Overall, we have a 93% graduation success rate (GSR) and for six straight years, we have posted a GSR of 90 or above. 

Thank you for all that you do for Temple, and I will continue to communicate with you regularly throughout the summer. I wish you all the best as we head toward what I hope will be a relaxing and productive time for all of you. 

Sincerely,    

John Fry  
President