What does the Temple community want from its next president? Here’s what to know from a new report.

Temple University is amid a search for a new president, and the campus community — including faculty, staff, students and alumni — has said what it wants to see in a new leader.

The Collective Genius, a research and strategy firm, spent more than 30 hours gathering information from more than 300 people and received more than 2,100 responses to a survey, all used to compile its “University Voices” report.

The new leader, expected to be selected this spring, will take over for Richard M. Englert, who stepped into the presidential role after the sudden death of JoAnne A. Epps at a university event in September. Epps had been serving as acting president, a role she moved into after the resignation of Jason Wingard, whose tumultuous tenure of less than two years was marked by a 42-day graduate student worker strike, dropping enrollment, the shooting death of an on-duty university police officer near campus, and criticism of his leadership style.

» READ MORE: Temple officially launches the search for its next president

Here are four takeaways about the process.

The community wants to see a leader with “grit” who advocates for the university’s mission in Philadelphia and elsewhere.

The new leader should have a commitment to teaching, research and service, demonstrated advocacy for higher education opportunities, and accessibility and prior relevant experience.

Stakeholders want a leader who serves the Temple community and its needs, the report said. That seems to respond to concerns that Wingard was tasked with being the “outward” face of Temple and fund-raise.

“It was a huge turn-off to nearly all faculty the way the former president talked about innovation in higher education as a corporate model,” said a faculty leader, cited in the report. “The language was all wrong, messaging was out of sync, a lot felt disrespected.”

» READ MORE: After a tumultuous tenure, Jason Wingard has resigned as Temple University president

Top leadership traits of the new president should be “highest integrity and ethics, a passion for higher education, an open, consistent communicator and someone able to make complex decisions.”

The community is looking for a “strategic communicator with a determination to tell “good” about Temple,” the report said.

The new president must work on improving the public’s perception of the university and address concerns about leadership.

Top of the list should be a focus on campus safety. Forty percent of those who responded to the survey said that safety is “the greatest opportunity,” while 73% described it as the most significant challenge. One parent who participated shared that her daughter was transferring after being held up at knife point on campus.

“Safety is … a basic need,” said a parent, cited in the report. “We just want to know our kids are safe. Acknowledge the problem and hit it head on.”

“Ensuring a sustainable financial future” and growing enrollment also emerged as other top issues. Temple’s enrollment this year, including undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, is 30,530, down 9.2% from last year and 22% from 2019.

Students also cited improving relationships with the community as another important opportunity. Investing in faculty and staff development also were cited as a top issue.

Diversity, equity and inclusion remain a major overall concern, but for faculty and alumni, it’s a little further down on the list, the report found.

“Although DEI continues to be extremely important, the university is in desperate need of new direction,” wrote one survey respondent.

“While still a guiding principle at all points in the decision-making process, many believe DEI will, almost by necessity, be respected and celebrated, regardless of who sits in the president’s chair,” the report said.

The results of the survey will be used to develop the job description for the next president.

Of the 2,144 survey respondents, more than one-third were students, more than one-quarter was staff, 18% were faculty, 15% were alumni, and the rest were parents and neighbors.

The university has tapped Spencer Stuart, an executive search firm that led the most recent presidential searches at the University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State University, and Loyola University Chicago, to lead the search.

Pedro Ramos, Philadelphia Foundation president and CEO, has joined the now 17-member presidential search advisory committee, the university announced. Ramos, who formerly chaired the Philadelphia School Reform Commission, is well known in the Philadelphia community.

The committee is largely made up of trustees, but also includes two members of the faculty, two deans, a student leader and an administrator.

“The Temple community clearly appreciates that the vitality and success of the university, its neighbors and the region are interdependent and want an experienced leader that both ‘gets it’ and is able to lead with trust at this critical juncture,” Ramos said in a statement. “The engagement work reflected in this report will be invaluable to the search.”