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 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.
