Temple University says it's addressing concerns about crime on campus and the president is moving to be closer to students to understand what it’s like to live in North Philadelphia.
On Tuesday, the university announced that President Jason Wingard, his wife and one of their children would move to a university-owned North Carlisle Street house that is just a block from Temple's campus. The move is expected to be completed in spring 2023.
"We're working on making sure that our transition isn't more disruptive to our near neighbors and to the community in general," Wingard told NBC10. "So we don't have a sense yet of what we're going to do but our major focus right now are the neighbors who are here on Carlisle Street."
Wingard will become "the first Temple president to live on or near Main Campus in the institution’s recent history," the university said in a Temple Now post.
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Temple's leader said he hopes that location will connect him with students, neighbors, faculty and staff.
“As a leader, it is crucial to take action that supports strategic priorities,” Wingard wrote. “For my family and me, this is a move that we have thought about carefully. It is aligned with institutional and personal values, and we are excited!”
Wingard's wife, Gingi Wingard, told NBC10 their family has frequently interacted with students.
"We welcome people," she said. "We had students at our house for Thanksgiving. We had international students join our family for meals. We currently meet with students at the dining club and on campus at the dining hall. So we just kind of see this as an extension of the campus. Our home."
The announcement came after @keep_us_safe_tu posted an open letter to Instagram calling on Wingard, who became the school's president on July 1, 2021, to break what they call his silence on crime.
“As Temple University has previously noted, we applaud John Mangan, the creator of the Keep_US_Safe_TU Instagram page for his activism, and we share in his goal of wanting to create a safe campus environment,” university spokesman Steve Orbanek said.
“However, the significance of an open letter like this from the very students that the university serves is not lost on us,” the statement continues. “We recognize that some students are not feeling heard and that some students and parents are anxious and uneasy. President Wingard recognizes this, as well.”
Wingard spoke about the crime concerns during his interview with NBC10.
"We're never going to be satisfied unless we have zero incidents," he said. "It's important to me that our community is as safe as can be. Our student community. Our faculty community. As well as the residential community."
Besides moving closer to campus, Wingard plans to meet Temple’s Student Government and students in the future.
“We know that stopping violence requires urgent action,” Orbanek said. “Temple is committed to helping stop the pandemic of violence through our security efforts, and our public policy and research enterprise allow us to be a part of the solution.”
In recent months Temple students have been targets of home invasions and even a firebombing in their off-campus homes.
Temple has already launched a series of safety measures based on recommendations of the Violence Reduction Task Force: “The University immediately implemented many measures this fall including the launching of the Best Nest off-campus housing resource program, restructuring the Flight program as a fixed-route service, supplementing patrols with the Philadelphia Police Department, expanding our Walking Escort service and increasing the frequency of communications with Temple’s Public Safety Department,” the university said.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
