Former Temple president Neil Theobald becomes a president again

Former Temple University president Neil D. Theobald will become a president again, this time at the University of Wyoming.

Theobald, 62, was named acting president this month and given a one-year contract paying $340,000, according to a university news release. He was hired by the university a year ago as vice president of finance and administration.

“It will be such an honor to work in support of our outstanding faculty, staff, and trustees as they enable student success and discover innovations that spur growth and diversification in Wyoming’s economy,” Theobald said in a statement.

Theobald resigned from Temple in 2016 as the board of trustees was preparing to meet to vote on dismissing him. He was under fire for a shortfall in the university’s merit-scholarship budget and his dismissal of the provost. He had led the North Philadelphia university for 3½ years.

An education-finance expert, he launched a “Fly in Four” program to encourage students to graduate in four years, removed the requirement that students submit SAT scores for admission, and settled a faculty union contract in a manner described by the then-union president as “the most cooperative negotiation we’ve ever had.” His tenure also saw record fund-raising and increased research prominence.

But he also endured a bruising battle over the decision to eliminate some popular sports programs in 2014 and had been leading the charge on controversial plans to build a football stadium on campus.

The news release announcing Theobald’s appointment included a statement of support from Larry R. Kaiser, dean of Temple’s Katz School of Medicine and president of the University Health System.

“Neil is a superb administrator and communicator who relates well to faculty, staff, and, most importantly, to students,” Kaiser’s statement said.

For more than a decade, Theobald and his wife have had a second home in Laramie, Wyo., where the university is based.