Temple University

Temple University is a state-related public research university in Philadelphia. Temple University was founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell and became known as Temple College in 1888. In 1907, the college became a fully accredited university. Temple University is the 28th largest university in the United States, the sixth largest provider of professional education in the country, and known for its programs in law, education, media, business, health sciences, and music.

Temple is a state-related university, meaning it receives public funds and offers reduced tuition for Pennsylvania residents but is under independent control. This differs from the schools in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) and is a status shared only with the University of Pittsburgh and the historically black Lincoln University. Pennsylvania State University is similarly structured, although that institution is a land-grant university, putting it in a slightly different category. Usually, tuition at state-related universities is higher than the tuition at the PASSHE schools due to the independence of the institution.

The Institution

The School of Dentistry, established in 1863 as the Philadelphia Dental College, is the second-oldest dental school in continuous existence in the United States and for 140 years, has provided men and women with a strong academic and clinical background for the practice of general dentistry.

The Temple University School of Medicine opened its doors to students on September 16, 1901. The third coeducational medical college in Pennsylvania, it began as a night and weekend teaching venture to accommodate working people. Classes were held initially in College Hall, next to Russell Herman Conwell's Baptist Temple Church, and clinical instruction was given at the Samaritan Hospital farther north on Broad Street. The original medical school numbered 20 faculty with 35 students enrolled during the first year. Today, Temple University School of Medicine takes pride in the excellence of its teaching, service and research programs. It remains fully accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. It employs approximately 452 full-time faculty, 73 part-time faculty and 875 staff. Each year it admits approximately 180 medical students and 24 graduate students.

Bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs are offered through the College of Allied Health Professions, the College of Education, the College of Engineering, the College of Liberal Arts, the Boyer College of Music and Department of Dance, the College of Science and Technology, the Tyler School of Art, the Fox School of Business, the School of Communications and Theater, the School of Dentistry, the Graduate School, the Temple University Beasley School of Law, the Temple University School of Medicine, the School of Pharmacy, the School of Podiatric Medicine, the School of Social Administration & Department of Health Studies, and the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management.

Academics

Temple University has over 300 degree programs. They offer programs from 17 schools and colleges and 4 professional schools.

Student life

Temple University is currently ranked the most diverse university in the nation by the Princeton Review. Signs of Temple's diversity can be seen all over campus as well as throughout its student organizations. More than 170 clubs and organizations provide outlets for all cultures and allow for socializing. Temple has a competitive political debate (where Temple is a member of the National Parliamentary Debate Association), community service, and more. Student-athletes compete in intercollegiate and intramural athletics.

Resident students, totaling approximately 9,000, live mainly in the high-rise residential halls and apartment-style residences on the Main Campus in North Philadelphia. However, students also live on the Ambler and Tyler campuses. A few of Temple's oldest residence halls feature single sex floors while most newer residence halls are co-ed, with single gender bathrooms. Additionally, wellness floors have been developed to allow students who select to live there an environment for healthy living. In 2005 the Office of University Housing and Residential Life opened its technology supported "Jack Niven honors classroom" within 1300 North and South Residence Hall to assist students.

The Independence Blue Cross Student Recreation Center provides 59,000 square feet (5,500 m²) of fitness facilities. The Rec Center is just one component of the Liacouras Center. Liacouras, the home court of perennially successful Temple basketball, also houses entertainment venues and a recreation center. In addition, the Student Pavilion, a multi-purpose, 4-court field house provides students with additional recreational space for volleyball, basketball, badminton, floor hockey, indoor soccer, tennis, golf, and much more.

In the Fall of 2005 the University opened Phase II of the Student Center Annex which included a full scale movie theatre, underground multi-purpose room, game room, and computer lounge, as well as an improved meeting and office space for student groups and organizations. The movie theater features recent movies at prices affordable to students, along with snacks and beverages.

One of the school's largest student organizations is The Temple News, Temple's community newspaper, which features nearly 200 student writers, photographers, editors and business employees, coordinated by a staff of 20.

Safety

The Main Campus and Health Campus of Temple University is located in North Philadelphia, a high-crime area of Philadelphia. There is no barrier between the campus and the neighborhood by which it is surrounded. The Temple University police department employs over 121 Pennsylvania certified officers who patrol the campus and surrounding neighborhoods 24 hours a day by car, bicycle and foot. All six of Temple University's campuses are very well-lit with more than 1000 metal halide bulbs mounted on building rooftops. The Temple University Police states that the lighting is in place to mimic "day light" on all campus areas after dark. In addition, "Code Blue" emergency telephone booths are strategically placed on campus which can be used to call help if the need arises.

In the time since class let out for summer 2008, there have been two on-campus shootings. Though the university does have an alert system which sends a mass text-message to all students and staff, the university chose not to send an alert for either shooting, even though the campus holds classes through the summer. While the university still utilized the email alert of the Temple Alert system, the lack of a text message alert led to some anger among the summer student community.

Also, it has come into question why Temple University does not offer a "police escort" after dark. In place of a "police escort" after dark, Temple offers two night time shuttle busses that run on separate routes seven days a week from 5:30pm to 6:00am. There are 22 stops in all and cover every residence hall as well as every privately owned student apartment building within a four block radius of the center of campus. A valid Temple ID is required to access the shuttle.

Technology

In January 2006 the university opened the TECH Center. The TECH Center is a ., state-of-the-art technology facility with resources that cater to current learning styles. Designed with a variety of workspaces to enable students to work collaboratively or individually, the Center is the largest of its kind in the nation. Also at Temple, computer labs and distance learning equipped classrooms are available throughout the various campuses. 85% of Temple's campus has wireless access. In 2004, the Princeton Review named Temple the fourth-most "connected campus" in the United States in the annual "Top 25 Most Connected Campuses" survey Temple has maintained its "Top 25" listing for three years in a row. Many professors use "Blackboard"-- an online learning system. On Blackboard, they post assignments, lecture notes, grades, and announcements. Faculty can receive technology assistance at Temple's Instructional Support Center. In 2003, Fox School of Business at Temple University began automated recording & webcasting of classroom meetings, called TUCAPTURE. In 2006, PC Magazine commented on TUCAPTURE in ranking Temple as #15 Most Wired College in America, quoting CIO Tim O' Rourke about capture, attendance, and notetaking In 2008, TUCAPTURE features 37 classroom and mobile devices internationally, and offers more than 800,000 minutes of classroom audio, visuals, video, and handwriting, delivered automatically via email, podcast, webcast, RSS, and Blackboard

Residential halls

Currently first year students and very few sophomores have the opportunity to live in the following housing units: Johnson & Hardwick Residence Halls, Gertrude Peabody Residence Hall, James S. White Residence Hall, 1940 Residence Hall, 1300 Residence Hall, Temple Towers Residence Hall, Elmira Jefferies Residence Hall, and The Edge at Avenue North. Students living on Tyler campus reside at Beech Residence Hall while students on the Ambler campus live in the East Residence Hall. Students enrolled in the Podiatry School in Center City may chose to live in TUSPM Apartments.

The Louis J. Esposito Dining Center is located on the ground level of Johnson and Hardwick Halls located near the north end of main campus and is commonly referred to as J&H or the caf. Students not wishing to make the trip to this end of campus may visit the Student Center's Valaida S. Walker Dining Court commonly referred to as the SAC.

Graduate students may obtain housing in Triangle Apartments on main campus. While Triangle Apartments is the oldest structure of the main campus residential halls, Gertrude Peabody Residence Hall is the oldest traditionally designed residential hall. In 2006 the building celebrated its 50th anniversary. The structure was originally designed as a women's residence hall with the campus cafeteria in the basement. The Gertrude Peabody Residence Hall building structure has since undergone many renovations to better serve students including a study lounge, game room, fitness center, computer lab, kitchen, and new windows and air conditioning. Many alumni fondly recall their experiences in Peabody Hall, known affectionately as "Peabody Pride". Gertrude Peabody Residence Hall is also known to have been built on land that once occupied one of Temple University founder, Russell Conwell's original homes.

To accommodate the growing demand for housing on campus in recent years, the university has made arrangements for auxiliary housing within Elmira Jefferies, The Edge at Avenue North, Franklin House, and Kardon-Atlantic Terminal Building. Arrangements with Franklin House and Kardon-Atlantic Terminal Building ceased beginning in Fall 2006, however many students still seek individual leases from these buildings.

Surrounding the Temple campus are an array of students living within independently run, local realty housing. After freshman and sophomore years, Temple students are forced to make their own housing arrangements. The apartment complexes on Temple's campus include; The Edge at Avenue North, Kardon/Atlantic Terminal Building, University Village, Sydenham Commons, and Oxford Village. Students who do not live in these buildings, for example those who can not find an opening in an apartment or those who can not afford the higher rent, live in off-campus apartments or row homes. These are located in the North Philadelphia area close by campus. Some students who live in these off-campus houses/row homes are there only because they have no other choice because of the cost of living on campus.

Students may obtain information on listed property managers through the Office of Off-Campus Living within the Housing and Residential Life Office which is located at 1910 Liacouras Walk.

Athletics

The school's sports teams are called the Owls: this name comes from Temple's early days, when it was a night school. The Owls are primarily members of the Atlantic Ten Conference (A-10), with the notable exception of football, which is transitioning into the Mid-American Conference from being a I-A Independent. The school's men's and women's basketball as well as the men's soccer teams are part of the Philadelphia Big 5 group of teams.

The Women's Basketball Team was guided by head coach and three time Olympic Gold Medalist, Dawn Staley from 1999 to 2008. Under Staley's leadership, Temple earned 6 NCAA Appearances (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008). Staley was named the head coach for the University of South Carolina on May 7th, 2008. She is succeeded by Tonya Cardoza a former assistant coach from basketball powerhouse, the University of Connecticut. As an assistant coach, Cardoza was instrumental in leading the University of Connecticut to 5 National Championships (1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004). Cardoza was introduced as the head coach for the Temple Owls on July 1st, 2008.

Temple University was among the first institutions in the United States to sponsor extracurricular athletic activities for its students. Both the football and basketball programs were inaugurated back in 1894 under the direction of Coach Charles M. Williams.

Temple University is also home to several intercollegiate club sports. Notable among these are the men's and women's rugby teams. Temple rugby teams compete as members of the Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Football Union (EPRU) and the Mid Atlantic Rugby Footbal Union (MARFU). Temple's women's rugby team has made two trips to the USA Rugby Division II National Championships, in 2004 (winner) and 2005 (runner up). Member's of Temple's men's and women's rugby teams have gone on to represent the United States of America, and have received All American Honors.

Greek life

Temple University recognizes 24 Greek Letter Organizations as part of the Temple University Greek Association. As of 2006, Temple's Greek Life community made up less than 2% of the student population but has more than doubled in population in the last year and has seen an addition of ten newly recognized organizations in the past year.

On May 3, 2006, Temple University Greek Association sponsored 3 awards at the First Annual Temple University Diamond Awards, These awards, voted upon annually by members of Temple Administration, currently include; Greek Man Of The Year, Greek Woman Of The Year, & Greek Chapter Of The Year.

On February 15, 2008, it is alleged that a hate crime took place outside of one of Temple University's fraternities. One student was assaulted by multiple other students, causing a fractured nose, broken eye socket, and deviated septum. It is alleged that the other students were yelling racial slurs during the attack. The victim of this attack has sued the four students accused of attacking him and Temple University, saying that Temple was aware for a "lengthy period of time prior to the attack" that there had been anti-semitic attacks on students and did not attempt provide for the safety of each of its diverse groups.

Temple University Greek Association

IFC Inter-Fraternity Council	NPC National Pan-Hellenic Conference	NPHC National Panhellenic Council	MGC Multicultural Greek Council
Alpha Epsilon Pi ΑΕΠ	Alpha Epsilon Phi ΑΕΦ	Alpha Kappa Alpha AΚA	Delta Kappa Delta ΔΚΔ
Alpha Kappa Lambda ΑΚΛ	Delta Zeta ΔΖ	Alpha Phi Alpha ΑΦΑ	Lambda Theta Alpha ΛΘΑ
Alpha Tau Omega ΑΤΩ	Phi Sigma Sigma ΦΣΣ	Delta Sigma Theta ΔΣΘ	Lambda Theta Phi ΛΘΦ
Alpha Chi Rho AXP		Zeta Phi Beta ΖΦΒ	Chi Upsilon Sigma ΧΥΣ
Delta Sigma Phi ΔΣΦ		Kappa Alpha Psi ΚΑΨ	Gamma Phi Sigma ΓΦΣ
Kappa Sigma ΚΣ		Sigma Gamma Rho ΣΓΡ
Tau Kappa Epsilon ΤΚΕ		Phi Beta Sigma ΦΒΣ
Phi Kappa Theta ΦΚΘ		Omega Psi Phi ΩΨΦ
Phi Kappa Psi ΦΚΨ

Traditions

The "T"

The traditional symbol of the University is the Temple "T." Early in his administration, President Peter J. Liacouras initiated a contest to choose a new symbol to represent the University. The winner was this particular version of a representational T, which was created by students at the Tyler School of Art.

The Owl

The owl is the symbol and mascot for Temple University and has been since its founding in the 1880s. Temple was the first school in the United States to adopt the owl as its symbol.

Story has it that the owl, a nocturnal hunter, was initially adopted as a symbol because Temple University began as a night school for ambitious young people of limited means. Russell Conwell, Temple's founder, encouraged these students with the remark: "The owl of the night makes the eagle of the day."

The Song

Notable among a number of songs commonly played and sung at various events such as commencement and convocation, and athletic games are: Temple University Fight Song, "'T' for 'Temple U' U-ni-versity! Fight, fight, fight! For the Cherry and the White, For the Cherry and the White, We'll fight, fight, fight!" "Fight! Temple Fight!" Fight! Temple, fight on! Fight with all your might! Fight for the Cherry and White, Keep our colors high! Roll that ball and hit the line, All the Temple stars will shine, Skill and courage win the game Fight on, Temple, fight!

Notable achievements

Temple University was named as having the Most Diverse Student Population in Princeton Review's 2008 list of the 366 Best Colleges. Temple University Professor of Piano Lambert Orkis and Lecturer in Tuba Jay Krush were both awarded Grammy Awards at the 42nd Grammy Awards ceremony on Wednesday, February 23, 2000. In 2004, Temple Alumnus, Juan "Pepe" Sanchez (BA,2000) won a Gold Medal in the Olympic Games as part of the Argentina's Basketball Team. Sanchez also holds the distinction of being the first Argentine to play in the NBA. Also, great American Stand-Up comedians Bill Cosby, Bob Saget, David Brenner attended this school.

Campuses

Pennsylvania

• Main Campus: Located in Philadelphia, about one and a half miles north of Center City. The campus is bordered by Susquehanna Avenue to the north, Oxford Street to the south, 16th Street to the west, and 10th Street to the east.
• Health Sciences Campus: Located in North Philadelphia specifically spanning Broad Street from Allegheny to Venango streets. With two hospitals (pediatrics and teaching), a pharmacy college, a nursing college and a dental college, it has a strong reputation for integrating all areas of health care into one fluent system. The medical and pharmacy schools are nationally renowned. The pharmacy school in particular is unique in its approach to education of the profession by administering courses that focus more on clinical sensibilities to prepare its students for the new roles of the pharmacist as a health care provider in the coming decades.
• Center City: Adjacent to Philadelphia City Hall and Suburban Station, Temple University Center City (TUCC) specializes in evening courses for working adults, and offers bachelor's and master's degrees in liberal arts and business.
• Ambler: Originally a junior college, Temple University Ambler now has 325 faculty and 4,600 students, offering bachelor's and master's degree programs on a 187 acre (757,000 m²) arboretum, located from the main campus.
• Harrisburg: Located at Strawberry Square, Temple University Harrisburg offers degrees in education, business, and social administration.
• Fort Washington: Temple University Fort Washington offers graduate degrees in business, computer engineering, education, pharmacy and liberal arts.
• Tyler School of Art: Tyler School of Art campus, located in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, was donated by Stella Elkins Tyler in the 1930s to dedicate as an art school. A controversial move in recent years has led Temple to plan on closing the campus and moving it to the main campus, despite concerns from students, faculty, and alumni. One reason for the continuing concern is the demolition of a large parking lot to build the school, creating less parking area in the already cramped university while simultaneously bringing in more student population. The relocation will be complete for the spring semester of 2009.

Temple University Japan

Temple University also operates , a branch campus located in two buildings in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. TUJ is the oldest and largest campus of any foreign university in Japan, with 2,830 students, about one-half of whom are Japanese and the others being from the U.S. and about 40 other countries. The campus offers B.A. (nine majors), M.S.Ed., Ed.D., MBA and LL.M programs, and also offers semester and year-long study abroad programs for U.S. undergraduates and law students (the latter is the first American Bar Association-accredited study abroad program in Asia). In addition, TUJ has non-degree English-language, continuing (adult) education, and corporate education programs.

After extended negotiations involving the U.S. and Japanese governments, in February 2005 TUJ became the first recognized in Japan. As a result, its credits and degrees are recognized as being equivalent to those of Japanese universities (while still being regular Temple University credits and degrees) and it can sponsor visas for international students. TUJ students are also given Japanese student identification cards and can obtain student discounts on train passes, mobile phone contracts, and other items.

The one remaining issue of contention between TUJ and the Japanese government is that TUJ is taxed as a for-profit company, even though the main campus is a non-profit, state university. This puts a significant financial burden on TUJ and its students.

Other campuses

Temple also has campuses in Rome and London. The Rome campus has been in existence for more than 40 years. This campus is located in the Villa Caproni on the Tiber River. While studying in Rome most students reside in the Residence Medaglie D'Oro, which is in the vicinity of the Vatican.

Temple also operates its own summer programs in London, Dublin, and Saint-Louis, Senegal and administers an LLM program in China (the only one of its kind) through a cooperative venture with Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Historical

On April 2, 1965, Lester B. Pearson, Prime Minister of Canada and recipient of the Nobel peace prize was awarded the Temple University World Peace Prize. During his acceptance speech Pearson criticised American bombing of Vietnam,

"There are many factors which I am not in a position to weigh. But there does appear to be at least a possibility that a suspension of such air strikes against North Vietnam, at the right time, might provide the Hanoi [communists] authorities with an opportunity, if they wish to take it, to inject some flexibility into their policy without appearing to do so as the direct result of military pressure"

The seemingly harmless speech infuriated former President Lyndon B. Johnson who, the next day at Camp David, took Pearson out onto the terrace and began "laying into [Pearson] in no uncertain fashion". Pearson later apologized for the speech.

Notable alumni

Considered to be Temple's most famous alumnus is comedian and actor Bill Cosby, who has been widely associated with the school during his entire career. Though Cosby began his higher education at Temple University, he dropped out in his junior year to pursue his career. He received his BA after earning his Master's and Doctoral degrees, at approximately forty years of age. Other notable alumni include:

Ben Bova: science fiction author, Richard Brooks: filmmaker, Rick Brunson: NBA player, Edwin Duing Eshleman: former Republican congressman, Daryl Hall: musician, Lois Hamilton: actress, Trenton Doyle Hancock: artist, Tim Heidecker: comedian, Joe Hoeffel: former Democratic congressman, Eddie Jones: NBA player, Paul E. Kanjorski: Democratic congressman, Aaron McKie: NBA player, Bill Mensch: computer scientist, Ronn Owens: radio talk show host, James Parrish: football player, Bob Saget: comedian, Jim Saxton: former Republican congressman, Ed Sciaky: disc jockey, Tom Sizemore: actor, John F. Street: Philadelphia mayor, Eric Wareheim: comedian, Vincent Fumo: Democratic state senator

External links

• Official University Site
• Official Temple Athletics Site
• The true story of the Temple University 57 cent church

References