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Temple University President Resigns, Ending Short Tenure

Dr. Jason Wingard, the first Black president of Temple University in Philadelphia, has resigned Mar. 28. Temple’s board of trustees has accepted Wingard’s resignation, according to a statement Tuesday.Jason WingardJason Wingard

Amid Wingard’s short and rocky tenure was worsening crime around campus, a graduate student strike, and a loss of confidence in his leadership among some faculty.

“Given the urgent matters now facing the university, particularly campus safety, the board and the administration will ensure the highest level of focus on these serious issues,” wrote Mitchell Morgan, chair of Temple’s board of trustees.

Gun violence is prominent in the city of Philadelphia – there were 516 homicides in 2022, according to data from the Philadelphia Police Department. In February, Temple police officer Sgt. Christopher Fitzgerald was shot dead near campus in North Philadelphia. Temple student Samuel Collington was killed near campus after an apparent robbery and carjacking the year before.

Wingard also faced a 42-day graduate student strike from the Temple University Graduate Students’ Association, asking for better wages and benefits.

And earlier in March, faculty and staff called for a vote of no confidence in Wingard, said Dr. Danielle Scherer, vice president of operations for the Temple Association of University Professionals.

“He seems to really miss a lot of what the purpose behind an education is supposed to do in terms of producing citizens who care about humanist principles and think about the cultivation of individuals as anything other than employees,” she said.

Faculty were also concerned about Wingard’s views on higher ed, including questioning its value and adopting technology, taking students out of classrooms, Scherer said.

“At one point, a college education was seen as the ticket to career success and advancement, but we live in a capitalist society, and we know what happens when money is at stake,” Wingard wrote in a 2022 opinion piece. “The key to retaining the value of a degree from your own institution is ensuring your graduates have the skills to change with any market.”

Union leaders still intend to hold a vote of no confidence on Morgan and Gregory Mandel, provost and law professor at Temple.

 

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