Temple launches search for its new leader

This story originally appeared on The Philadelphia Tribune.

The search for the 14th president of Temple University has begun.

Temple officials announced on Thursday that they have selected a leadership advisory firm and assembled a search advisory committee, with the goal of announcing the new leader next spring.

“This is a transformative moment for the university, and with a team that will help center the voices of our community, key administration and stakeholders, we look forward to finding the right candidate who represents our institutional mission and can lead our great school into the future,” Mitchell L. Morgan, chair of Temple’s board of trustees, said in a statement.

Starting this month, the university will seek feedback from the community through listening and engagement sessions.

The Collective Genius, a research and strategy firm, will conduct in-person and virtual sessions with faculty, students and stakeholders to learn what skills and leadership qualities the next president should have.

The executive search firm Spencer Stuart will lead the president search. The firm recently led presidential placements at Penn State University, Loyola University Chicago, and the University of Pennsylvania.

In addition to the search firms, there will be a 16-member search advisory committee, which will include representatives from the board of trustees, deans, faculty, administrators, and students.

Along with Morgan, the committee members will include Quaiser Abdullah, assistant professor of instruction at Lew Klein College of Media and Communication; Shohreh Amini, professor at the College of Science and Technology; Richard Deeg, dean of the College of Liberal Arts; Amy Goldberg, dean of Lewis Katz School of Medicine; Valerie Harrison, vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion; Rohan Khadka, president of Temple student government; and trustees Joe Coradino, Lon Greenberg, Kellyn Hodges, Marina Kats, Drew A. Katz, Susanna Lachs, Leon O. Moulder Jr., Bret S. Perkins, and Phillip C. Richards.

The search process will also include two rounds of candidate interviews with the search advisory committee followed by a selection of finalists, according to Temple officials.

“Selecting the 14th president of Temple University is an honor and a great opportunity to hone our vision for the years ahead,” Khadka said in a statement.

“But we can’t do this alone. We will need input from the entire Temple community in order to find the best-suited candidate for the job.”

After two years, Jason Wingard resigned from his position as the university’s 12th president in March.

He became president after a 10-month nationwide search led by an 18-member Presidential Search Committee, which was appointed by the board of trustees.

At the time, Temple was assisted in that process by Storbeck Search, a member of the Diversified Search Group.

In April, the board of trustees named former Temple provost and law school dean JoAnne Epps as acting president.