Temple University begins a new era as John Fry starts his tenure as president.
Fry isn't moving too far from his last job. He was the president of Drexel University for more than a decade.
Back in July, the North Philadelphia university announced the hiring of Fry as president-elect. He had received unanimous confirmation from Temple's Board of Trustees "following a comprehensive national search overseen by the Presidential Search Advisory Committee and informed by a robust community engagement process," the university said in a news release.
Fry has now become the university's 15th president following the resignation of then-president Jason Weingard in March 2023 and the sudden death of acting president JoAnne Epps in September 2023. Upon Epps death, former president Richard Englert returned to the leadership role on a transitional basis.
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No official ceremony has been planned for Fry at this time. However, the university shared a video message from their new leader.
"I look forward to working with all of you to contribute to the legacy of this remarkable institution," Fry said in a new video Temple Univeristy posted on social media. " I also see this as an opportunity to build on the successes of my dear friends, the late President JoAnne Epps and President Dick Englert. Because of their leadership, I arrive at a time of great momentum and opportunity for the Temple community."
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Fry added, "I do not come to Temple with a playbook already written. My time working in higher education has shown me that open-mindedness and flexibility are key. I am committed to listening to students, faculty and staff, alumni and our North Philadelphia neighbors and working in collaboration with all of you to seize this moment and move this university forward together."
Before Drexel, Fry, a 64-year-old native of Brooklyn, New York, served as president of Pennsylvania's Franklin & Marshall College from 2002 to 2010, Temple noted. Before that, he was an executive vice president at Philadelphia's University of Pennsylvania.
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