Dear ##First Name##, Because you are a valued supporter of Temple University, and I have pledged to devote more resources to sharing the Temple story with our most important friends, it’s my honor to report the advances and positive changes occurring this fall at Temple.
From the Desk of President Neil D. Theobald
Dear ##First Name##,

Because you are a valued supporter of Temple University, and I have pledged to devote more resources to sharing the Temple story with our most important friends, it’s my honor to report the advances and positive changes occurring this fall at Temple.

Temple has momentum today not seen in decades. It is powered by supporters like you, so it’s important that you know what’s happening. Thank you for all you do to help this great institution continue to rise.

I write on a particularly consequential anniversary.

Fifty years ago this fall, Temple University was transformed from a private to a state-related university.

The change, effective with the 1965-66 school year, designated Temple an “instrumentality of the Commonwealth” and boosted annual Commonwealth funding by $11 million – about $83 million in today’s dollars. In response, Temple cut annual tuition for Pennsylvania residents by more than 50 percent: from $920 to $450.

That was a big year for me as well, for other reasons. In October 1965, I was a fourth grader more interested in baseball than schoolwork. In those days, all weekday World Series games were played during school hours. I spent the morning of October 6 plotting how to track that afternoon’s World Series game.

It was the Twins against the Dodgers. As I walked home for lunch, I hatched a brilliant plan: I would wedge a transistor radio inside my pants and snake an earphone wire up my shirt. Unfortunately, while that afternoon’s lessons droned on, I got lost in the play-by-play. When I failed to suppress my joy at Don Mincher’s second-inning home run for Minnesota, my demise was swift and certain.

I spent an hour after school writing “I will not bring a radio to school” 100 times, in cursive. Any sentence in which my cursive was deemed “inelegant” did not count towards the 100.

Back to 2015: I still love baseball, but happily no longer have to choose between cheering and education. All World Series games are at night. Cursive – elegant or not – is no longer taught in many schools. But Temple’s mission is unchanged: excellence, accessibility, and maximum affordability.

The links are striking between what President Millard Gladfelter achieved in 1965 and what we accomplish today.

Fifty years ago, substantial Commonwealth funding not only made Temple more affordable, but also more accessible by funding a 15 percent enrollment increase. The funding also helped Temple bolster its academic excellence by recruiting more faculty, building a new library, and dramatically increasing university research.

President Gladfelter transformed Temple into one of the leading urban research universities of the 20th century. We remain one today as our means and methods evolve for a changing world.

In 2015-16, our annual Commonwealth appropriation has dwindled by about $90 million in 2015 dollars from the peak contributions in the late 1960s. At the same time, our enrollment has more than tripled.

In order for Temple to continue standing for excellence, and accessibility, and affordability—all at once—we’ve taken matters into our own hands.

We have embarked on a period of change unlike any since the 1960s.
We created Fly in 4, Temple’s innovative, one-of-a-kind program to control student costs and promote on-time graduation. Students who sign up for Fly in 4 commit to graduating in four years. Today’s sophomores are the first class with access to the program. Six hundred more sophomores than last year are on track to graduate in four years. On-time graduation is the single best way to minimize student debt. If these students stay the course, they’ll save more than $15 million. This savings should recur. 93 percent of Temple freshmen have enrolled in Fly in 4.
We’re investing in student success. Responding to concerns about employment success after college, Temple is delivering top-notch, student-centered classroom experiences that make alumni more likely to succeed in jobs and in their lives. We’ve tripled our Student Career Services staff – setting up internship opportunities, bringing employers in for job interviews, and helping students prepare.
 
 
TODAY’S SOPHOMORES ARE THE FIRST CLASS WITH ACCESS TO FLY IN 4... THOSE WHO SIGNED UP ARE ON TRACK TO GRADUATE IN FOUR YEARS. IF THEY STAY THE COURSE, THEY’LL SAVE MORE THAN $15 MILLION.
 
We’re enhancing the campus with a new science building, new library, student recreation center, and south campus athletics and student recreation fields. Today’s Temple student body is primarily residential. We are providing appropriate space for them to access activities, faculty-student interaction, and outreach to future employers.
This is only a taste of current developments -- visit president.temple.edu for more.

One thing that hasn’t changed in the past 50 years is our commitment to the city of Philadelphia. We continue to invest here because Temple never forgets where home is.

It has been a fabulous start to the 2015-16 school year. Simply put, cherry red has never been this red hot.

It is due to the hard work of thousands of faculty, staff and students, the wise direction provided by our trustees, and the enduring support of alumni in all 50 states and 145 countries. In three years, Temple has doubled its fundraising receipts to a record $84.2 million.

Thank you for your generosity. More than $11 million of these gifts went directly to student support, so we can keep our commitment to affordability. This would be impossible without you.
President Neil D. Theobald giving the State of the University address
President Neil D. Theobald delivering the State of the University address.
 
In my annual State of the University address this month, I underscored the phenomenal efforts made by our faculty and staff in pursuit of Temple’s unchanging mission. And I urged them to think bigger still. To fulfill our destiny as one of America’s leading urban universities, our level of philanthropic support must increase and broaden. To make this possible, we rely, as always, on you.
Fifty years ago, President Gladfelter launched a revolution at Temple built on increased affordability, accessibility, and academic excellence. Temple has since equipped generations of alumni for success. We make extensive positive impact on the economy of Pennsylvania and the region, attract the finest faculty, and earn increasing recognition around the world for research and academic merit.

Now, with the momentum you fuel, we position Temple to play a unique leadership role in American higher education. I am confident that the best is yet to come.

I deeply appreciate your continued support of this vigorous and vital university. Sincerely yours,

Neil D. Theobald
President, Temple University
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Executive Office of the President
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