President's Report

Dear Students and Colleagues,

This year marked an important moment for Temple University: the formal introduction of Forward with Purpose, our new strategic plan. For Temple, this is more than a plan; it’s a roadmap for the decade ahead, as we approach our 150th anniversary in 2034.

Built around the foundational priorities of Student Success, Research in Action and Place-based Impact, Forward with Purpose provides a blueprint for building on our strengths and achieving our ambitions. I believe Temple is uniquely positioned to become one of the most consequential urban research universities in the nation.

While we are still in the early stages of implementation, the progress we made in fiscal year 2026 shows we are already moving in that direction.

We continued to put students at the center of all we do, expanding the resources that help Owls thrive at Temple and prepare them for their careers. Our faculty researchers and scholars created new knowledge and advanced discoveries with the potential to improve lives, while new partnerships furthered our impact in Philadelphia and across the commonwealth. Meanwhile, our global presence, one of our strongest distinctions, continued to grow and expand opportunities for students across three continents.

And all of this is possible thanks to the extraordinary generosity of our alumni, donors and friends whose support enables us to invest in our students and our faculty—including through landmark gifts that will shape Temple for generations to come.

What follows are highlights of our progress over the past year, offering a glimpse of what is ahead. As we work to bring Forward with Purpose to life, we are building a stronger Temple together.

John Fry
President