This interview was conducted in person on January 9, and then via email for follow-up questions.
_______________________________
The Faculty Herald: You’ve spent many years working in this pocket of Pennsylvania. You served as the President of Drexel University and Franklin & Marshall College. Before those positions, you served in a high-level administrative role at the University of Pennsylvania. Many of our readers would be interested to know why you’ve made the transition to Temple. What makes Temple a compelling institution for you?
President Fry: Temple was an appealing destination for me, from both a personal and professional standpoint. While Penn and Drexel are both magnificent institutions, it is easy to argue that Temple has the most compelling educational mission in the city of Philadelphia. Its educational and healthcare missions also arguably have the greatest impact.
Because of its strong public mission and public purpose, Temple is the anchor of anchors. Given my background in public service, this felt like it would be both the ultimate challenge and test. It would also be the ultimate honor.
From a personal standpoint, I’m 64. I wanted to have one more chapter in my career, and becoming President of Temple feels like that opportunity. Also, because of personal circumstances, this is ideal because my family does not have to pick up and move. I always try to find the balance between my personal and professional lives, and this role accomplishes that. More than anything else though, I felt very much called to this work.
The Faculty Herald: Considering that you’ve never served as faculty at any of your previous institutions, what drives you to work in higher education administration? Some faculty can be skeptical of administrators who don’t have that experience.
President Fry: My drive comes from my early experience in college where I was involved in student government. I eventually became the student government representative to our board of trustees, and I became very immersed in the life of that college via its shared governance system. That experience has always stuck with me.
Early in my professional career, I was also given an opportunity to work in a university setting at a Historically Black University, Virginia State University. I spent around a year immersed in that institution, and I left there knowing that these are the places that I want to work in.
Following that, I started doing full-time consulting for colleges, universities, and not-for-profits. I did that for 10 years, and I really enjoyed the work. So, I had a different entry into this industry, but my concern has always been the same, which is helping institutions fulfill their missions given their challenges. Over time, I’ve also become interested in helping them connect more deeply with their surrounding communities. They can be seen as a burden, or they can be seen as a benefit, and I have worked to ensure that it’s the latter.
This is work I have been doing on college campuses in one form or another since I was 19. Through that, I have developed a passion for the mission, the purpose and the enjoyment of the communities. I was young and impressionable, so these experiences and impressions stuck with me, and they have not left me since.
The Faculty Herald: What in your background has prepared you for the new challenges we’ll face in higher ed over the next several years? To name a few, we’re facing federal funding cuts, increased scrutiny of faculty research and teaching, as well as possibly zero tolerance for student activism. These actions, from the perspective of many faculty members, look like serious threats to academic freedom. In what ways are you prepared to lead Temple through these challenges?
President Fry: Certainly, those are all fair questions, and they are questions that are also very much on my mind. I still believe in the power of higher education, and I believe in its ability to transform the lives of students and make a substantial impact in our communities. In many ways, there has never been a more important time for the work that we do, especially at an institution like Temple.
There is also strength to be found in the fact that all of us in higher education are experiencing this together. Out of that, a collaborative effort can grow that lasts beyond this moment. But we, as higher education institutions, have work to do. We know that some portion of the public has lost trust and faith in what we do. We have to be willing to lean into that and figure out how to maintain our mission but also adapt to what we’ll need to be in the future.
There is a great level of uncertainty at this point, but what I am confident about is that higher education is not going anywhere. We may just need to adapt to meet the moment. Similarly, the mission of Temple University will not change. This is always going to be a place where the First Amendment and academic freedom thrive, and I have full confidence in that.
The Faculty Herald: At the December 12th meeting of the University Faculty Senate, you described how you’d like Temple to serve a frontline anchoring role in the city. Could you describe for our readers how you envision this happening?
President Fry: It’s multidimensional. Philadelphia has many assets and strengths, but there are also high levels of poverty and lack of access to education. One of Temple’s first jobs is to provide access to great undergraduate and graduate education, but also provide opportunities to the people who live in our region. We’ve been on this journey for 140 years with such a level of consistency, and we have already made some recent progress there, with one example being the recently launched Temple Future Scholars.
Secondly, if the Philadelphia region is going to move forward, more needs to be done in the areas of discovery and innovation. We are in a strong position to think about how all that discovery can eventually translate into economic opportunity for all. I’m very focused on how Temple can become a generator of jobs and opportunity, which is why we are working to develop a Broad Street innovation corridor that will link the health sciences, technology and the arts.
The third is answering the question: How can Temple be rooted in the community so that people who may never access an education here can feel its impact? This is something I am presently discussing with Tony Watlington, Superintendent of the Philadelphia School District.
At Drexel, we established a Promise Zone in nearby zip codes in order to focus on health care, access to jobs, and improving safety. As an institution, we wanted to be a truly good neighbor and peer, rather than just a source of expertise coming into the community. To do that, we had to do a few different things. We had an extension center in Mantua, which I felt was probably the best example of how to create a place where campus and community expertise can problem-solve and work together.
So, to me, it’s a place-based strategy all about core access, discovery and innovation, and deep community engagement. And if we can activate all three of those together, it will be great.
The Faculty Herald: How will cuts to NIH funding announced on February 7 impact Temple’s ability to become a place for innovation and discovery that you mention in your second point? And what impact could these cuts have on jobs at Temple?
President Fry: As is the case with much of what is happening at the federal level, this is a fluid situation. We continue to monitor changes coming out of Washington, and we will adapt as necessary. We also are committed to keeping the Temple community informed during this time.
Even if there is much we do not know at this point, I do feel comfortable in saying that we are going to continue to be a place that works to grow the impact of its research. Just in February, for instance, State senators Steve Santarsiero and Vincent Hughes visited our iNest to celebrate a $750,000 investment by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in a life-saving medical device. This is the type of groundbreaking work that is happening here on our campuses, and we are going to be committed to this type of innovation-driven research.
The Faculty Herald: Do you envision something like an extension center in North Philly similar to the Promise Zone at Drexel?
President Fry: Yes, I’d be disappointed if we did not establish something like that. I don’t know the form and the expression of it, because it’ll be different here. Much of this will depend on what the community wants coupled with what our faculty and students can develop. At Drexel, the extension center ended up quite different from what we initially thought it might be, but it was wonderful. I would love to be able to have the ability to provide those resources here, making sure that it ultimately serves our North Philadelphia neighbors in the way that they desire it to.
The Faculty Herald: Over the years, many faculty members have felt that the community is treated with some disregard and is seen as separate from what we do here at Temple.
President Fry: Historically, I know that has been a challenge, and what is most concerning for me is that it doesn’t align with Temple’s actual mission. We can proselytize all we want about the importance of civic engagement and service, but if we’re not actually doing it in front of students, it is never going to resonate with them.You cannot engage this generation by just speaking to them about civic engagement.
As I have shared, we are reimagining how we think about community impact and civic engagement, and that process is already underway. When it’s complete, we will ensure that Temple’s various efforts are best organized for maximum impact. There will be opportunities for everyone to get involved in these efforts, including faculty.
The Faculty Herald: What do you think Temple’s relationship should be with civic issues?
President Fry: Temple should be engaged with these issues for a number of reasons. For one, we often speak about how the talent and expertise of our faculty, so what better way to maximize than by letting them lend their voices to advance conversations on civic issues.
One example is David Brown, the Assistant Dean for Community and Communications in Klein, who also runs the Civic Coalition to Save Lives. Through his participation in this organization, Temple will gain a better understanding of North Philadelphia’s needs, and we can be a part of the solution going forward.
I hope we identify more of these opportunities for our faculty or staff to engage in this type of work. We want to find out how we can lend our individual expertise to these civic matters in the best ways possible.
Ideally, this work could positively influence the future of Temple. At Drexel, I was relentless about making sure that Drexel had a seat in every conversation relative to decision making and allocation of resources. Often, I was the only university representative in those meetings from any of the higher ed institutions in Philadelphia. There’s no reason that Temple shouldn’t be in those conversations.
Honestly, I didn’t see a whole lot of Temple in those meetings before, so we must identify the organizations we want to impact civically and how we should get involved so that we can represent the university.
The Faculty Herald: Which organizations do you think Temple should develop connections with?
President Fry: One of the first ones that we have started to work with is the North Broad Renaissance. I recently accepted their invitation to join their board, and I also expect Temple to support the organization financially. They are an organization whose mission is to improve the safety and quality of life on North Broad Street. Partnering with them is a natural fit, as we share those same goals here at Temple.
There is also a coalition of institutions being supported by the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU) and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia that Temple is now involved with. I’d like for Temple to collaborate with major funders and a governmental organization like the Fed. Representatives from Temple recently attended a meeting, which also included representatives from Penn and Drexel, and I think we made a strong impression.
As you may have seen, we also recently joined the University Innovation Alliance, a university consortium that works to improve student success and broaden participation in higher education for all students. We are the 18th university to join the prestigious organization and the only university in Pennsylvania represented in the alliance. Joining an organization like this will really allow us to amplify the work we are doing in the student success space.
Eventually, what I would like to see is for Temple to have a representation in every consequential place in Philadelphia. It is my hope that Temple representatives will add value to the conversations, which will enhance our reputation and potentially lead to opportunities for us to improve our funding. To put it more simply, I envision an army of Temple people everywhere you go, you’re going to bump into someone from Temple. I think that’s consistent with our mission and demonstrates what a real anchor can do.
The Faculty Herald: The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on March 11 that Mayor Parker called a meeting with Philadelphia’s “meds and eds” to ask institutions like ours to ease the $6.8 billion city budget burden by investing more in the city through taxes and other means. Seemingly in response, the Jefferson Health CEO announced a possible move out of the city. How will Temple respond to Parker’s request?
President Fry: I see both Temple University and Temple Health as two of Philadelphia’s most important anchor institutions. We are fully invested in Philadelphia and the prosperity of the city, and that is something that will never change.
A perfect example of our continued commitment to Philadelphia is the university’s recent acquisition of Terra Hall, the former main academic building of the recently-closed University of the Arts. Terra Hall allows us to expand our presence in Philadelphia to where we now have a permanent home in Center City. This will be able to house all of the existing activities for our Center City campus, but because Terra Hall is so spacious, we will also be able to launch a number of additional initiatives, too. It’s a primary example of how we are continuing to invest in this city.
The Faculty Herald: In the December University Faculty Senate meeting, you also talked about your commitment to shared governance. The prevailing attitude of the last two decades at Temple has been shaped by President Adamany’s decision to limit the role of the Faculty Senate and put more power into the hands of the deans. What concrete steps do you have in mind to restore and strengthen shared governance?
President Fry: Early on, while I was still an undergraduate student and the student government representative to the board of trustees, I learned that communities do better if they truly have connections and can live and work together. Shared governance is an ideal and a principle.
I want to make sure that we approach shared governance in a comprehensive and streamlined way. Shared governance shouldn’t mean that we need to set aside long periods of time to make decisions. Now, for some initiatives like GenEd reform, a longer period of time will be required. We would never rush that.
But this going to be on a case-by-case basis. There may be opportunities that we need to take advantage of or challenges that we need to avoid. In these cases, I want to share that governance, but I don’t think we’re going to have the luxury of time to do it. We need to travel at the pace of the change that is impacting institutions like ours.
Regardless, I have learned in my discussions with faculty that they have been discouraged by the decrease in shared governance. I’d like to see what I can do to restore that. We have already started to refresh our strategic plan, and I have made certain that faculty are playing an integral part in that process.
The Faculty Herald: In the nearly twenty years I’ve been here, the faculty have been disappointed at the number of times we’ve been either completely excluded from the decision-making process or a token presence with only one member representing our perspective.
President Fry: I recognize that concern, and I take it very seriously. I cannot speak for the circumstances of the past, but I know I would like it to be different. I want all members of the Temple community to be tuned in to what is happening at the university, and certainly, our faculty are among our most important stakeholders in these discussions.
_________________________________
Banner image courtesy of Joseph V. Labolito, Temple University
