Former Temple president Jason Wingard received more than $1.1 million in compensation the year he resigned

Former Temple University president Jason Wingard received more than $1.1 million in total compensation in 2023, the year he resigned, according to the most recent tax records.

Wingard left Temple in March of that year after less than two years on the job, amid criticism of his leadership after a graduate student worker strike, the shooting death of a university police officer, and a continuing decline in enrollment. The pay was for less than three months of work.

It’s unclear whether that is the total payout amount he received or whether he will continue to be paid in subsequent years. Wingard had been working under a five-year contract.

The university declined to comment on the total amount of Wingard’s compensation under his departure agreement.

“Per Temple University policy, we do not comment on personnel matters,” said university spokesperson Steve Orbanek.

According to Temple’s 990 tax form, Wingard received more than $1.1 million in total compensation in 2023. The previous year, he received about $1.4 million.

Wingard, who is now a distinguished visiting professor at Harvard University, according to his LinkedIn profile, could not be reached for comment.

» READ MORE: After a tumultuous tenure, Jason Wingard has resigned as Temple University president

Wingard started at Temple in July 2021. In spring 2023, Temple endured a 42-day graduate student worker strike and the killing of on-duty university police officer Christopher Fitzgerald, igniting concerns about campus safety. His resignation came as the Temple Association of University Professors, the faculty union, was preparing to hold a vote of no confidence in him.

Faculty at that time cited noncontract renewals for some nontenured faculty, public-safety concerns, and vacancies in some key administrative jobs. They also had raised concerns about university finances and cited Wingard’s seeming lack of presence on campus.

Wingard, who grew up in Chestnut Hill and was Temple’s first Black president, previously held leadership positions at Ivy League universities including the University of Pennsylvania and Stanford. He came to Temple from Columbia University, where he was a professor and had served five years as dean.

University officials at the time declined to say whether they would pay out Wingard’s contract or offer some other kind of settlement.

Former University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill also resigned in 2023. Penn’s 990 tax form was not available for distribution, but might be as early as next week, a spokesperson said. Magill departed in December of that year, following bipartisan backlash over her congressional testimony about the university’s handling of antisemitism on campus.

At Temple, Wingard was not the highest paid in 2023. Temple’s former football coach, Stanley Drayton, held that distinction, receiving nearly $1.75 million in total compensation, followed by surgeon Yoshiya Toyoda, former head football coach Roderick Carey, and the late JoAnne A. Epps, who served as acting president from April until her death in September of that year.

Carey drew a salary of more than $1.5 million, even though he did not work at Temple in 2023. He was fired in November 2021 after three seasons and with three years left on his contract.