James Rampersad
The university has seen a significant decrease in grant money and student enrollment in recent years.
University Senators, faculty members, and administration officials review Temple’s financial performance for fiscal year 2022-23. (Photo Credit: James Rampersad)
Major budget cuts could be coming to Temple’s athletic program due to the university’s continual loss of grant money and waning enrollment numbers in recent years. The Temple University Senate met Monday to discuss what is being called a “crisis of leadership” at Temple, as the university continues to face a turbulence of financial questions and leadership concerns.
During the meeting, the strongest financial questions came into play when discussing the university’s excessive financial commitment to its athletic program.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education Stairs Report, in fiscal year 2022-23, Temple paid approximately $4.5 million to play a handful of home football games at Lincoln Financial Field, otherwise known as the home of the Philadelphia Eagles. English professor and University Senate member, Steve Newman, led the skepticism on this use of Temple finances.
“If you are seeing the kind of scarcity that we are currently feeling in the academic core of Temple, it is fair to ask questions about these kinds of numbers” Newman explained.
In addition to the millions of funds exported to the Linc, Temple paid $1.3 million to Nike, $87,000 in athletic billboard advertising, and $31,000 for the use of the Sixers home arena, the Wells Fargo Center that same year. Newman continued on where some of Temple’s other struggles currently lie.
“As an R1 university, we are not doing as well as we would like to do. We are losing grant money,” he lectured.
As a heavily tuition dependent institution, Temple has seen more than a 5% percent drop in revenue in just two years, a figure that is in direct correlation to the school’s shrinking enrollment numbers. Since 2018, there has been a 25% percent decrease in student enrollment, while other Pennsylvania colleges and universities have not experienced such a plummet in new student acquisition Newman noted.
However, student enrollment numbers are not the only concern for Temple at this point in time. The university has also seen a 30% decrease in full-time faculty since fiscal year 2014-15. Figures such as these have given great cause for concern about Temple’s status moving forward.
College of Engineering professor, Mohammad Kiani, who has been tenured at Temple for over two decades, offered his insight on the real cause for all of these issues:
“Temple is missing a sense of leadership, direction, and mission right now,” Kiani explained.
This opinion could stem from the fact that Temple has had five different university presidents in under eighteen years, an unprecedented number that foils that mere eight presidents that held office from 1897 to 2006. This current “crisis in leadership” certainly spells uncharted territory for those at the university, both at an administrative and faculty level.
The meeting ended with some slight optimism. It was acknowledged that these financial and leadership worries will not be solved overnight and must be addressed extremely carefully.
Fox School of Business professor, Michael Schirmer, encapsulated his understanding of the issues at hand.
“Universities are large complex organizations that require significant financial resources to achieve their mission” he explained.
Temple’s future mission certainly is at stake, and many people within the university are doing all they can to ensure that perseverance will conquer this ongoing struggle.
Comments