JoAnne A. Epps, the appearing president of Temple University in Philadelphia whose tenure got here at a turbulent time for the college, died on Tuesday after turning into in poor health onstage at a memorial provider, the college mentioned.
Ms. Epps, who used to be appointed in April, used to be taken to a health center after turning into in poor health on the memorial provider and used to be pronounced useless at round 3:15 p.m., the college said in a statement. She used to be 72.
“There are no words that can describe the gravity and sadness of this loss,” the college mentioned in a letter that used to be signed via the chair of the board of trustees, the executive working officer and the provost. “President Epps was a devoted servant and friend who represented the best parts of Temple.”
The college didn’t proportion the reason for demise.
Ms. Epps used to be attending a memorial provider on Tuesday for Charles L. Blockson, a historian, writer and curator of the Blockson Afro-American Collection at Temple, which homes greater than 500,000 artifacts with regards to the worldwide Black revel in. Mr. Blockson died in June at 89.
Footage from a are living feed of the memorial provider that used to be later got rid of from Temple’s website online confirmed a choir making a song in the back of a row of chairs that were arrange at the level. Ms. Epps seemed to hunch in her chair as papers she used to be preserving in her lap fell to the ground. People seated subsequent to her spotted that she used to be in misery, and any person stepped to the lectern and requested for a health care provider to come back and assist. The are living feed then minimize out for a number of mins ahead of the memorial provider resumed.
Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania said on X, previously Twitter, that Ms. Epps used to be “a powerful force and constant ambassador for Temple University” and that “losing her is heartbreaking for Philadelphia.”
“Speaking at Temple’s commencement earlier this year, I reiterated my strong belief in the university and its North Philly community,” Mr. Shapiro wrote. “They are tough and resilient, and I know they will come together and lift each other up in this devastating time.”
Mitchell L. Morgan, the chair of the Temple board of trustees, advised The Philadelphia Inquirer that Ms. Epps used to be “our light at the end of the tunnel.”
Ms. Epps had been a member of Temple’s college for greater than 3 a long time. Before becoming a member of Temple, she used to be an assistant U.S. lawyer in Philadelphia and a deputy town lawyer in Los Angeles.
Her demise rattled a college group that used to be already going through a number of demanding situations. She used to be appointed after the resignation in March of the former president, Jason Wingard, whose tenure used to be plagued via worsening crime round campus, a strike via graduate scholars and a lack of self belief in his management amongst some college contributors.
After Mr. Wingard’s resignation, Temple seemed longing for secure management, and Ms. Epps used to be noticed as a pacesetter who may calm the waters. Her deep ties to Temple reassured many on campus, and when she used to be appointed, she mentioned in a observation that she would “engage with individuals and groups across the university to reinvigorate a culture of shared governance, listening and learning.”
Ms. Epps, a former government vice chairman, provost and regulation college dean at Temple, used to be transparent that her tenure can be transient, telling The Inquirer that she would no longer be a candidate to serve within the place completely.
“The university needs a president who it anticipates will have a long tenure,” she said, including that she had deliberate to retire this 12 months ahead of she used to be requested to function appearing president.
Her priorities, she advised native news shops, had been addressing the dual crises going through Temple: campus protection and falling enrollment, a subject matter that different universities also are going through.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Temple Association of University Professionals said on X that its contributors had been “deeply saddened” via the lack of “a true Temple icon.”
Temple’s pupil executive affiliation mentioned in a observation that Ms. Epps had made “great strides for the university and always put students’ wants and needs first.”
Michael Levenson contributed reporting.