Philly lawmakers want to have more oversight of Temple’s board of trustees

Three Philadelphia lawmakers want the state to have greater control over Temple University’s Board of Trustees, following a turbulent few months that resulted in its president’s resignation last week.

State Reps. Malcolm Kenyatta, Donna Bullock, and Danilo Burgos — all Democrats from Philadelphia — announced Monday that they plan to introduce a bill that would add three state-appointed trustees to Temple’s Board of Trustees to help the 33,600-student public university through the “important decisions before the board.”

Temple has made national headlines for a series of separate issues in recent months. In January, its graduate student union went on strike for 42 days. During this time, Temple Police Officer Christopher Fitzgerald was shot and killed near campus. Then, President Jason Wingard resigned last week after less than two years at the helm, leading to criticism that Temple’s first Black university president was under more scrutiny than his white predecessors.

Temple has 36 trustees. Currently, 12 trustees are appointed by the governor and the top officials in the state House and Senate, with four picks each. The others are nominated and elected by the board of trustees.

The Philly lawmakers want to increase state-appointed trustees to 15 — giving the governor, House speaker, and Senate president each five appointees. Kenyatta said the lawmakers plan to introduce the bill next week.

If the legislation is passed by the House and Senate and signed into law by Gov. Josh Shapiro, Kenyatta said he’d want the state’s top leaders to appoint more people of color and young people to the board.

“When you bring in people who are new to this, they start asking that perennially important question: Why do we do the things that we do the way that we do them?” Kenyatta said. “That’s the power of injecting new blood.”

A spokesperson for Temple said the university will review the legislation once introduced and will work with the General Assembly “to ensure a focus on the best interests of the University and the Commonwealth.”

”The effectiveness of Temple’s longstanding and ongoing partnership with the Commonwealth is evident in the value returned to the citizens and economy of Pennsylvania, through discounted tuition for in-state students, and real-world preparation for the jobs and careers in the marketplace,” said Deirdre Hopkins.

In a news release, the three Philly lawmakers emphasized that increased oversight would help the state address violence near the university’s main campus in North Philadelphia, noting that the number of shootings in the area patrolled by Temple Police nearly tripled between 2018 and 2022. They also noted an enrollment decline at the school of more than 16%.

“The university has been facing difficulties on a variety of fronts including safety, enrollment, and upheaval in university leadership, these facts make it more important than ever that we step up and provide greater oversight,” the lawmakers said in a memo to fellow House members.

Temple is expected to choose an interim president in the coming days before launching a new president search, Board of Trustees Chairman Mitchell Morgan told The Inquirer last week.

Until then, the school is relying on a “strong core group of senior administrators,” Morgan added.

In a memorandum circulated to colleagues Monday asking them to sign on in support of the legislation, the three lawmakers said recent upheaval at the university requires additional state oversight to ensure that state dollars are being spent effectively.

Kenyatta said he and his colleagues chose to increase the number of state-appointed members at Temple, rather than at all four state-related universities, because they represent the neighborhoods in and around Temple.

“We’re focused on the school in our back yard,” Kenyatta added. “Temple cannot fail. That would be a blow to my district and my community, and it would be a blow for the entire commonwealth. We’re in a moment right now where everybody has to do their part to right the ship.”

Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward and Shapiro did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for House Speaker Joanna McClinton declined to comment.