JoAnne Epps, named Temple’s acting president, says she can ‘calm waters’

JoAnne A. Epps, a former Temple law school dean and provost who has spent nearly 40 years at the university, was named acting president by the board of trustees following a unanimous vote late Tuesday afternoon.

Epps, 71, of Shamong, Burlington County, was among the top names circulating last month as a possible replacement for Jason Wingard, who resigned as president of the 33,600-student university in March after less than two years on the job. His resignation came as he faced a no-confidence vote by the Temple Association of University Professionals, the faculty union.

“I am obviously humbled and excited and really looking forward to being able to make a contribution to the university that I so love,” Epps said in an exclusive interview.

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It won’t be the first time she is stepping into a leading position at the university during a time of crisis. Epps was named provost in 2016 when former provost Hai-Lung Dai was removed by president Neil D. Theobald, who was later forced to resign. Longtime Temple employee Richard M. Englert was named acting president at that time, and the two worked together to stabilize the university.

“I ... think some part of what gave the board confidence in selecting me is my ability to sort of calm waters,” said Epps, a Yale Law School graduate who spent nine years as a trial lawyer before joining Temple.

The job likely will last through the fall semester, possibly until next summer. The university plans to launch a national search for a new president in the next couple weeks. Epps said she will not be a candidate for the permanent position.

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“The university needs a president who it anticipates will have a long tenure,” she said, noting that she had planned on retiring this year before the board asked her to step in as acting president.

Mitchell Morgan, chairman of the board of trustees, expressed faith in Epps’ appointment.

“There is no one more qualified than JoAnne to assume this role,” he said. “I am confident she will be a strong leader as we face key challenges. She also will be able to unite the university community with a shared purpose and focus on our mission.”

Morgan is among a small group of trustees that has been meeting daily to guide the university in recent weeks.

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Epps’ history with Temple stretches way back, her mother once working as a secretary for the school and she, herself, at 16, was a cashier at the Temple bookstore. Her academic career includes 31 years at the law school, the last eight as its dean before becoming provost, a position she held until August 2021 when Wingard moved her out as part of a larger shift in top administrators. She remained as a senor adviser to Wingard and on the law school faculty and is currently finishing teaching a course at the law school in gender equity and the law.

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

She said her priorities will be enrollment and safety, which have emerged as major challenges at the North Philadelphia university. Enrollment is down 14% since 2019, with deposits for next year down 25%. And safety concerns, which have been mounting at Temple since the shooting death of student Samuel Collington in November 2021, were exacerbated by the slaying of on-duty Temple police Sgt. Christopher Fitzgerald on Feb. 18.

“My first step is going to be to inform myself as to where we are on these two important initiatives,” said Epps, a former prosecutor with ties in the law enforcement community, which she believes could help her as she guides Temple.

“I’m going to be looking to figure out how we have all the important stakeholders, which is bigger than Temple University, at the table, so we can come up with a comprehensive plan that works for the university and for the city.”

Temple faced some criticism from outside and within the university when Wingard, the school’s first Black president, announced plans to leave after such a short tenure. There were people who thought he was being unfairly blamed for issues outside his control, such as off-campus crime and spiraling enrollment, which other universities also are facing, though Temple has seen one of the steeper declines.

Others who believed that his departure was justified were upset about how his tenure ended.

“I can’t see how this was race-based,” Epps, who also is Black, said of his resignation, “but I certainly understand people wondering. I think those are fair questions to ask, I think that’s what we should be doing as a nation in 2023.”

Epps hopes her selection eases some of that concern.

“I hope to be able to bring some of that hope back for anybody who feels as if they are uncertain,” she said. “I hope that they’ll take my commitment to Temple and at least give me a chance and give the university a chance.”

Sen. Vincent Hughes at an Appropriations Committee hearing in Harrisburg last month said Wingard’s early departure sent “a very chilling message,” and asked, “What standards are Black presidents [held to] that might not be the same as white presidents?”

On Tuesday, Hughes called Epps’ selection “a very good decision.”

“President Epps possesses an impressive background and has been a leader at the university during crisis situations,” Hughes said. “I’m confident she’ll step up to the plate and help Temple navigate through what has been a challenging time.”

Epps will face multiple challenges as she enters the role, not only on the enrollment and safety front. The university is beginning negotiations with its faculty union — its current contract expires in October — on the heels of a 42-day strike by its graduate students, and as faculty at New Jersey’s flagship university Rutgers went on strike this week.

And the faculty union intends to proceed with a no-confidence vote in provost Gregory N. Mandel and Morgan. The vote is scheduled to start Friday and last a week, with results likely being announced April 24, said Jeffrey Doshna, TAUP president.

Epps said she would not try to interfere with that vote and believes they have the right to express themselves.

“One of the things about unions is I recognize their job as I hope they recognize mine,” Epps said. “We will inevitably be on opposite sides of a particular issue. We can disagree, but it doesn’t have to be disagreeable.”

Doshna raised concerns about Epps’ selection, noting that Mandel, also a former law dean, is still provost, meaning both of Temple’s top two leaders hail from the same school.

“They don’t have the same connection to the undergraduate experience as folks from other parts of the university,” he said.

He also faulted the board for not consulting with the union before the selection.

“They need to be more open and inclusive in their processes,” he said, adding that he hopes the board invites widespread input on the selection process for a new president.

Still, he said he looks forward to meeting with Epps as soon as possible and hopes she plays an active role in contract negotiations.

Gianni Quattrocchi, student government president, said he was pleased to learn of Epps’ upcoming appointment.

“She’s a great choice to help lead us through these difficulties,” he said.

A native of Cheltenham Township, Epps received her bachelor’s degree from Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., in 1973.

After Yale law school, Epps became deputy city attorney in Los Angeles in 1976 and in 1980 returned to Philadelphia to join the U.S. Attorney’s Office. She began at Temple law in 1985 and was named dean in 2008.

She presided over the law school as enrollments nationally declined. During her leadership, the school moved into the top 50 in U.S. News & World Report rankings, started a center for compliance and ethics, and created the Stephen and Sandra Sheller Center for Social Justice.

Among her honors, she was recognized three times as one of the 100 most influential Black lawyers in the country by Lawyers of Color Magazine.

She has served multiple roles in the community. Then-Mayor Michael Nutter appointed her as chair of a Police Oversight Board responsible for making sure Philadelphia implemented recommendations of a Justice Department report critical of officers’ use of lethal force. She also has served on the Philadelphia Board of Ethics, and heldroles on the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia and the Women’s Nonprofit Leadership, which has advocated for more women on university and hospital boards.

Epps said her charge from the board was not to be simply a caretaker but to lead.

“I am mindful I am going to be doing this on temporary basis so I am mindful of being respectful... kind of a like a physician,” she said. “First, do no harm. But I also have been given the ability to keep Temple moving forward as opposed to keeping us in neutral. We’re not going to be in neutral.”

She’ll already be representing Temple in Harrisburg Thursday at a meeting called by Gov. Shapiro’s deputy education secretary who oversees postsecondary education.

Epps will be supported by long-time employee Ken Kaiser, who will remain at the university as senior vice president and chief operating officer. He had planned to leave this summer, but after Wingard’s departure said he would be staying.

“JoAnne and I are good friends,” Kaiser said. “She’s a proven leader, and I’m geared up and ready to do whatever she needs.”

Susan Smith also has been given the permanent role as chief compliance officer; she had been interim.

Epps expects her long history with Temple will help her in the new role.

“Many of us who worked at Temple for years say we bleed cherry and white,” Epps said. “Temple is in our soul. It’s in our blood. It’s in our DNA. That doesn’t mean I will be successful as a president, but it does mean ... I get this institution in a way that I think will be really important.”