Hundreds gather to remember Temple’s JoAnne A. Epps during Temple vigil: ‘We are her legacy’

It was a beautiful sun-splashed September day, students walking and chatting by the Bell Tower, classes in session in buildings all around, another semester well underway on Temple University’s North Philadelphia campus.

JoAnne A. Epps would have loved it.

But Temple’s acting president died suddenly on Tuesday, and all the campus community could do was gather to remember and honor her and promise to carry on her legacy, one that recently included restoring calm, smooth operations and unity to the university after a tumultuous year.

» READ MORE: Temple’s acting president, JoAnne A. Epps, has died after falling ill on stage at university event

“Even in her passing she brought all of us together in love,” Richard M. Englert, chancellor and former Temple president, told a crowd of about 1,000 students, faculty, staff and community members who gathered at the Bell Tower for a noon vigil.

Information for services on Epps was not available Wednesday, nor was the cause of her death. Epps fell ill on stage at a Tuesday afternoon ceremony in memory of historian and author Charles L. Blockson, who was the curator emeritus of the Blockson Afro-American Collection. She was pronounced dead shortly after at Temple University Hospital.

The board of trustees held an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss next steps, but has not yet named a new acting president.

» READ MORE: JoAnne Epps, named Temple’s acting president, says she can ‘calm waters’

Mitchell Morgan, chair of the board of trustees, said the university will take care of Epps’ husband, L. Harrison Jay, who worked in community affairs at Temple for decades, but had years ago suffered a stroke. Epps took care of him, and now Temple will, Morgan said.

The board also has decided to posthumously remove the “acting” from Epps’ title, giving her a place in the university’s history as one of its presidents, with her photo to be hung in the board room with all other prior presidents, he said.

“She resembled and lived a life that was Temple-made and embodied our mission in every way,” Morgan said. “We are honored to have her portrait on the wall in our board room amongst all prior presidents.”

A teacher, lawyer, administrator and leader, Epps served Temple for nearly 40 years, starting as a law school professor, then dean, then provost, before being named acting president last April after the resignation of Jason Wingard.

Those who talked at the vigil described Epps’ “humility” and “brilliance,” her knack for inspiring those around her to a higher level, her religious faith — “God is good,” she often said — her keen financial stewardship, her caring and compassion, and her outspoken advocacy for equity and justice.

“Her compassion for the most vulnerable persons in our society was legendary,” Englert said.

She was a gifted writer who loved words and had little tolerance for grammatical errors, said Marylouise Esten, a longtime Temple coworker who was like a sister to Epps. She liked people right away unless they gave her reason not to, Esten said. She knew her strengths and her limitations.

“She readily admitted when she didn’t know something and challenged herself to learn more,” said Esten, vice president and chief of staff.

During her time as acting president, Epps wanted nothing more than to bring the entire campus community together and remind everyone of their shared commitment, Esten said.

“Like this university, JoAnne has changed lives,” she said. “That’s what she asked us to do. That is her legacy. We are her legacy.”

Freshman Paul Juhasz, 18, a journalism major from Allentown, sat on a bench, listening. He said he felt an obligation to attend the vigil.

“I’m part of this university as a student and I kind of owed it to her,” he said. “She kept things running smoothly during her tenure.”

He said he was moved by the speeches and “just the impact Dr. Epps had on people around her.”

Sarah Powell, 46, who has both her undergraduate and MBA degrees from Temple and who worked at the university for 17 years, most recently as director of emergency management, said she was glad she could attend the service. Epps vowed to come in and calm the waters, and she did, Powell said.

“She legit did do that,” Powell said.

David Brown, assistant dean for community and communications at Temple’s College of Media and Communication, said the university would heal.

“Not only will we get through this,” said Brown, who opened the ceremony, “we will get through this together, as a family, as a community.”

Others echoed that sentiment.

“We’ve obviously gone through a lot of bad things, especially in the past two years, but I think there’s just this triumphant feeling,” said Anthony Essick, 23, a 2022 Temple graduate and current law school student from Delaware. “We’re going to come back strong, because I think that’s what she’d like.”