Temple University President Jason Wingard has resigned

Jason Wingard is stepping down as president of Temple University in less than two years, the board announced Tuesday.

Wingard, 51, who has led the university of 33,600 students since July 2021, submitted his resignation, which the board accepted at a special meeting Tuesday afternoon, said board chairman Mitchell Morgan. .

Morgan, founder and chairman of Morgan Properties, who has led Temple’s board of directors for more than three years, said: “In the meantime, we have a strong core group of senior management to rely on.”

» READ MORE: Temple Trustees To Take Stronger Oversight Role As Universities Suffer ‘Confluence Of Unprecedented Serious Challenges’

Wingard’s resignation caps a turbulent period at the University of North Philadelphia, following a 42-day strike by graduate workers and the shooting of Sergeant Temple while on duty in February. A source close to the dean said enrollment he has dropped 14% since 2019, and next year’s deposits he’s down 25% compared to the same period last year.

It was also when the faculty union, the Temple University Professionals Association, was preparing to hold a vote of no confidence in Wingard, and a letter from the school’s dean called for a meeting with Morgan over their concerns. It happens. Last week, a Temple News survey of 1,000 students showed that 92% disapprove of Wingard’s grades, and that number is rising.

But the resignation also seems to have happened quite abruptly. Just Friday, Wingard said it intends to pause some of its strategic planning initiatives aimed at taking Temple “to the next best-in-class level” to focus more on campus safety. Message sent to Temple his community. And the number of enrollees decreased.

» READ MORE: Temple Teachers Union Calls for Vote of No Confidence in University Leadership

It wasn’t immediately clear why the seeming turnaround or whether the university would pay Wingard’s five-year contract or some other settlement. I refused.

“I would like to thank Dr. Wingard for his leadership and dedicated service to the temple community,” Morgan said, declining to answer questions about payment or the settlement.

Wingard, the former Columbia University president who has worked at the University of Pennsylvania and Stanford University, was not immediately available for comment.

Last week, Temple University’s board of trustees announced plans to bring greater oversight to the university as it faced what Morgan called an “unprecedented confluence of serious challenges.” In between quarterly board meetings, board executives formed a special committee to give “more stringent attention” to matters of urgency, such as campus safety, enrollment numbers, and “engagement and response to the university.” said to have installed

Morgan said Tuesday that the committee will remain in place while the university looks for a new leader.

“The board and task force will focus on the university’s efforts to address the many challenges we face with safety as our top priority, as we had planned,” Morgan said. “And we reach out to key voter groups to hear directly from them. We recognize that it needs to be a reflection. Engagement and collaboration are key.”

In a message to the campus community, Morgan said a small group of senior Temple leaders will lead the school.

“This group has many years of experience at Temple and a dedication to its mission,” said the board. “Each will take individual responsibility for the essential functions of the university and provide a stable foundation for the search for the next president.”

Among those leaders is Ken Kaiser, senior vice president and chief operating officer, who previously said he would retire this summer. Kaiser, who has been with the Temple for more than 30 years, said late Tuesday afternoon that he now plans to stay.

“With this change of leadership, the board has asked that I remain in view of my experience and years at Temple to guide us in the future and to make Temple the best university possible. he said.

The administration’s response to the graduate student negotiations may have prompted the faculty union to consider a no-confidence vote, but it also raised concerns about the university’s leadership. Union officials cited non-renewal of some non-tenured faculty, public safety concerns, and vacancies in some key management positions. He expressed concern about office issues, citing Wingard’s seeming non-existence on campus.

They questioned Wingard’s attendance at the Super Bowl in Arizona and the Temple Program in Jamaica for several days in February, when a graduate student strike was roiling campuses.

But others within the teachers’ union worried they would send the wrong message by voting no confidence in Temple’s first black president. We were facing post-pandemic issues like increased gun violence.

Temple has been grappling with how best to increase security around campus following the February 18 shooting of a Temple Police Sergeant. Christopher Fitzgerald at work.

It is unclear what will happen in a no-confidence vote. The union was scheduled to vote for Wingard, Morgan and Provost Gregory N. Mandel beginning April 10.

A special committee of the board of directors is chaired by retired former chief executive officer of UGI Corp., Lon Greenberg, and includes Morgan. Leon Mulder Jr., former founding general partner of Tellus Bioventures. Brett Perkins, senior vice president of foreign and government affairs at Comcast. Phillip Richards, executive chairman and founder of North Star Resource Group; Jane Scacetti is the founding partner and CEO of Drucker & Scacetti, a tax firm that recently joined Armanino.

This is a developing story and will be updated.