July 15, 2016
An internal email sent to Temple University faculty and staff Thursday downplays potential fears about the school's financial stability after it was announced that President Neil Theobald is to be ousted over concerns about the school's budget.
The email, written in a Q&A format, attempts to reassure faculty that the board of trustees' vote of "No Confidence" in Theobald and scheduled vote to terminate him as president do not mean the university's in trouble.
It reiterates past statements from the board regarding Theobald's handling of the university's budget. In June, provost Hai-Lung Dai was relieved of his duties after it was discovered there was a $22 million over-allocation of merit scholarships for the 2016-2017 academic year.
After its Tuesday vote, the board placed the blame on Theobald for allowing the budget deficit to balloon, a point made again in the email to faculty.
"Managing the budget is the responsibility of the president; therefore the Board is compelled to seek Dr. Theobald’s removal as President," it reads.
The email assures faculty that despite news of a budget deficit, the university is in good shape, and attempts to clarify that the issue was with management and not with the overall amount of funds available. Per the email:
Is money missing from the budget?
No. The overspending is the result of higher-than-expected numbers of highly talented students coming to Temple who are eligible for merit aid. For Fall 2016, Temple has seen a 17 percent increase in the number of high school graduates with GPAs over 3.0, and incoming freshmen with 1300+ SAT scores have increased 29 percent. Having larger numbers of merit-eligible students is actually a good problem to have, but the budget implications were managed poorly.
The email goes on to try and assure faculty and staff that Temple is not in "bad shape," but instead in the "strongest position it has seen in recent memory."
It also says current programs that allow quality and affordable education to potential students will not be cut as a result of the over-allocation of scholarship money and says this year's budget has already been balanced through administrative cuts.
The email comes a week before the board's scheduled vote on July 21 to officially vote out Theobald, who has said he will not resign despite the board's action.
Assuming Theobald is voted out, he will be the shortest-tenured president in the university's history, sans acting presidents.
The board intends to again appoint University Chancellor Richard Englert as acting president of Temple University. Englert served in the position in 2012 after the departure of Anne Weaver Hart and before Theobald's appointment.
After Dai was dismissed in June, Theobald nominated veteran faculty member JoAnne A. Epps as executive president and provost.
It was revealed after Tuesday's vote that a recent email from Theobald to the board referenced a sexual harassment allegation against Dai that dated back more than six years.
In a pair of statements from Dai's attorney Wednesday, the former provost called the public accusations "complete and utter fabrications" and said he was not made aware of the budget deficit until March of this year.
Theobald, the board believes, was aware of the deficit in June 2015 when it was $9 million but did not make the board aware until the spring of 2016.
