Please see below. This has been emailed to the secretary at Temple. There are a few of us attending. If more can attend, please do. We need as many people as possible. Thank you:
Below are the concerns we want addressed from the BOT.
No transparency from the BOT. Even Mitchell Morgan admitted as much in the Philadelphia Magazine piece a few weeks ago. Some examples.
No public access. Other than questions that can be submitted to email of the secretary (which at the public meetings, the inbox is not even on the agenda), there is opportunity for public comment and questions. None. Penn State has public access public meetings. So does the University of Pittsburgh. We are the stakeholders. As such, not only is it permissible to question the leaders of our public university, it is a requirement.
No agendas published for the public meeting. There has not been agendas published for at least the last four public meetings. Penn State published ten days prior. Pitt, at least two days. Most time, more than two days.
Minutes published at a considerate delay. Minutes from the last meeting need to be approved at the next meeting. They should be published, subsequently. Many times, they are not.
No public notice on how Trustees are nominated, or even invited to board.
No voting by alumni on Trustee positions.
No engagement with Alumni. Not in public. Not in private.
The link below is the 1965 Commonwealth Act as it pertains to Temple University.
https://secretary.temple.edu/sites/secretary/files/policies/01.31.00.pdf
The words “transparency” and “public access” are nowhere to be found. However, there is nothing in this language that prohibits any level of transparency. Again, for a public university.
The inability of the Board to control the narrative. Some examples:
Where is the plan to get a head of negative news and actions at Temple?
Where is the community engagement on University goals and visions?
Where is the promotion of all that is positive at Temple?
Temple is an Ri Institution? Were that promotion of that fact alone.
Why is not Temple a member of the AAU? Is it a goal of the BOT to apply for membership? If not, why?
There are roughly 350,000 alumni in the Delaware Valley alone. The majority of whom have never even been contacted by Temple. Some going back over 50 years. What is the Board’s plan to deal with this critical fact? If no plan exists, why not?
The inability to this board to choose a President that winds up being beneficial to the university. It seems every President hired has battled the Board nearly from the start. How accurate is that statement? I don’t know because this Board is not transparent at all.
The inability of the board to get out in front of negative news and happenings. These are the moments that cry out for leadership. And no leadership has emanated from this Board. At least that, we, the alumni, can see.
Why is the relationship with the city of Philadelphia so adversarial? So poisonous? Where is the plan to repair this vital relationship? If no plans exists, why not?
The Trustees are genuine and accomplished people. But lets not lose site of the critical fact that 24 of out the 36 positions on the board are voluntary. That means 24 people chose to be of service. And that is how, we alumni, view this Board. They joined to be of service. Hence, they report to and are accountable to us, the alumni. They are here for us, not, we, for them, If that is not the case, then that is the root of the problem.
We now turn to Athletics. Lets remove the emotion and focus on the numbers:
Less the. 2000 members of the Owl Club (our next conference mate has 5000 members)
Less than $2,000,000.00 raised for athletics in the FY 2022. (Our next conference mate has raised $8,000,000.00)
Athletics currently $90,000,000 in debt.
Athletics subsidized by the university at 95 percent.
No stability in development. Plus, we have a head of Institutional Advancement that is openly hostile to athletics and, in particular, NIL.
NIL is a the reality. None of us like it. But we can’t survive with out. Why is not the Board engaged with the NIL? Why is not one of them leading the initiative? Again, why such hostility to a vital component?
The athletic department does not have enough staff to be run efficiently. More the than 10 people left athletics last summer. And the majority of those positions have not been replaced. And the majority of those positions are revenue generating. Morale is at an all time low in the department. The question is, who should Temple have any less than any other Division I institution.
We are woefully behind on fund raising and NIL. So behind, we can’t see the institution in front of us,.
No plan articulated regarding facilities.
No plan articulated regarding conference realignment
These numbers can not be refuted. If these numbers remain the same, there will no athletics in five years. If this were a business, it would have been shut down years ago.
So again, we ask, what is the Board’s plan to ensure the survival of athletics at Temple? What is it? We don’t have time to waste. The house is on fire. You may disagree with our rhetoric, but the numbers can’t be refuted.
We are in big trouble. We need help. And this Board is the only organization that can stop this from happening.
They can stop it by investing in athletics the same as most Division I institutions. That means personal investments. If they invest wisely, they will get a return on investment.
This department needs real support. So we ask, we beg, the Board, do not let athletics die. Give the people in athletics the tools do to do their job. And then, let them do their job. And allow alumni to fill in the gaps so that we all, as a university, as a community, build this department, this university, the way it should be constructed. Let us ensure that Temple University is set up for success, not failure.
Lastly, there is no public access or space on the agenda for us to to be heard. We will make our voice known. And will share what our experience is at the meeting today.
But know this, we will be respectful. We are all Temple Owls.. We are not enemies. We are brothers and sisters that are trying to solve formidable obstacles.
We would rather be anywhere else than doing this. It truly breaks my heart,. This has been a full time job for the past six months. We are tired. We are weary. But we have angels helping us. Angles like Jim Maloney, Ed Freeman, John Chaney, Joanne Epps, Merv Jones, Skip Wilson. It is for them, that I soldier on.
We look forward to continued sharing of experiences of wisdom, truth and virtue that build our Temple great.
temple.rivals.com
