Temple accidentally told too many young alumni they made a ‘30 under 30′ list — then apologized to the losers
The university apologized to any heartbroken alumni and assured them they were “all 30 under 30″ at the end of the day.
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That was the gist of an email blast that Temple University sent out to young alumni this week, informing them they were nominated for the school’s annual “30 under 30″ list recognizing successful graduates.
The problem?
It went out to way more students than the intended 30 winners — and Temple quickly sent out an apology email to the people who had, in fact, not made the cut.
“We regret the mistake and apologized to all the recipients who inadvertently received the email,” a university spokesperson said in a statement. “The intended recipients, the 30 under 30 honorees, have been properly notified.”
Temple declined to say how the mishap occurred and how many personalized emails were inadvertently sent out to award losers. Going by the uproar, it appeared to reach a wide audience of alums.
Copies of the email circulating on social media showed the university congratulating students on their nomination, using their first names, and inviting them to the award ceremony in March. The annual “30 under 30″ program is meant to honor “changemakers, trendsetters, problem solvers,” and other graduates who are “making a vital contribution in their field, career, or community.”
“We messed up and we’re sorry,” the Temple Alumni account posted on Twitter. “You are all 30 Under 30 in our [heart]. Be on the lookout for yet another email from us tomorrow, we promise this one will be correct.”
Some recipients, with a healthy dose of sarcasm, reported their dreams were crushed.
In one tongue-in-cheek tweet, an apparent alum wrote that they’d already told relatives about the nomination and purchased airfare to attend the March ceremony: “How you expect me to recover from this?”
Others joked that they felt snubbed for not receiving the fake “30 under 30″ nomination email.
Temple declined to share the separate apology email it promised to send out Friday, but a spokesperson said “we are inviting all of the inadvertent recipients to a special access alumni event later in the spring.”
“Temple University accidentally emailing all of their alumni 30 Under 30 Awards, revoking all those emails & then offering a free apology bowling night has just been the gift that keeps on giving,” one Twitter user wrote.