President Ann Weaver Hart announced today in an email that Richard Englert, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, will remain in the position of provost until the end of 2012 in order to help in the transition to a new president.

“I am pleased to announce that Dr. Richard M. Englert has agreed to remain in the position of Provost of Temple University until December 31, 2012 to assure a smooth transition for the next president,” Hart said in the email. ”Dick has been a strong academic leader for Temple University, and his steady leadership will assure that Temple does not miss a beat in its continued growth and distinction.”

Hart will officially resign her position on June 30 and will assume the role of president at the University of Arizona on July 1. Hart’s successor has not been announced.

Check back with The Temple News for more on Englert’s decision to stay on as provost through the end of the year.

During her last Board of Trustees meeting as president, Ann Weaver Hart thanked the Board of Trustees for its support and expressed confidence in Temple moving forward, today.

“It has been truly an honor to be president of Temple University,” Hart said. “I know that you are all committed to a bright future for this incredible institution.”

“As my last president’s report, I want to thank you for the privledge of being part of this wonderful team and assure you that I have great faith and confidence that this institution will continue to nurture and advance the values and accomplishments that make it the great institution that it is,” Hart added.

The Temple News has requested an interview with Hart multiple times since the last board meeting in March, and has received no response.

After Hart’s speech, the board announced the extension of the Temple Association of University Professional’s contract through October 2014. According a press release, the extension will go into effect when the current contract expires this October.

The board’s committees then unanimously approved a slew of recommendations from the various committees.

Among the approvals were four projects recommended by the facilities committee. The projects included interior lighting upgrades to various buildings that would cost up to $2.86 million, as well as a roof replacement to McGonigle Hall that would cost up to $2 million.

The board also approved a recommendation from the aumni relations and development committee that would authorize the naming of the Glass Studios at Tyler School of Art for Irvin Borowsky and Laurie Wagman.

Tweets from the university’s government affairs Twitter account went live about an hour ago, offering a bit of hope for those fighting against cuts in Temple’s state funding–or at least those in the Twittersphere.

The Pennsylvania Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously approved a bill that would restore the proposed funding cuts to the university, the tweets announced, which were outlined by Gov. Tom Corbett in February. The bill would keep Temple’s funding for the next fiscal year at its current amount.

When Corbett introduced his proposed budget for fiscal year 2012-13, he called for a 30 percent cut to Temple’s funding–reducing the appropriation from $139.9 million to $97.9 million. Although Temple stood to receive $139.9 million this year, 5 percent, or approximately $7 million, was held due to a shortfall in state revenue.

Ken Lawrence, senior vice president for government, community and public affairs, said he has been working with the senators on the appropriations committee these past few months to introduce this Temple-specific bill. Bills for Penn State and the University of Pittsburgh, also facing proposed cuts, would be separate, he said.

The bill still needs to be passed by the senate, the state house of representatives and the governor. But while it’s far from set in stone, the bill is a step in the right direction, Lawrence said.

“What the bill the demonstrates is that the state senate considers higher education a priority in the budget and does not want to see a cut,” he said. “[The bill] puts us in a much stronger position than we were in last year at this time.”

Lawrence added that Temple has maintained that the 20 percent cut to its funding last year should be considered a two-year cut.

An estimated 10,000 people have utilized Temple Advocates Legislative Outreach Network, or TALON, to contact legislators on behalf of Temple, since Corbett’s proposed budget address, Lawrence said.

“This is not the end,” he said. “We still have a long way to go.”

The Twitter account, @TUGovtAffairs, concurred.

The Executive Office of the President released the results of the Gender and Sexuality Climate Survey tonight.

The survey, which was administered during the Spring 2011 semester, served to measure the GLBT climate on Main Campus. The Gender and Sexuality Climate Task Force released a five-page summary of the data, as well as the 155 page results, published by Rankin and Associates Consulting.

The survey was taken by 2,693 undergraduates, faculty, graduate students and staff, according to the task force’s forward.

Check back with The Temple News  for a full recap of the survey results.

A Temple student is facing drug charges following an armed home invasion at an off campus apartment last night, Sunday April 29.

The robbery took place on the 1500 of Page Street around 10 p.m. when two armed, masked men forced themselves into the residence and stole cell phones and cash from the five Temple students present. A third suspect stood watch outside of the apartment.

No one was hurt during the incident and after the robbery the three men fled south on 15^th Street.

A TU Alert was sent out today, April 30^th, around 10 a.m., informing the Temple community of the forced entry and robbery.  The alert also said one of the apartment’s occupants was arrested for possession of illegal drugs with intent to deliver. The presence of illegal drugs inside the house is believed to be related to the robbery, according to the alert.

Following the incident, authorities recognized the description of one of the suspects.

“We [made] one apprehension of a male a few blocks from the incident who was positively identified by the students,” said Charlie Leone, deputy director of Campus Safety Services.

He added that the Philadelphia Police Department Central Detectives Unit is leading the investigation with the help of The Temple Police. The investigation is still underway.

The golf team struggled to a 10th place finish out of 11 teams at the rain-shortened Atlantic Ten Conference men’s golf championship held in Coral Gables, Fla.

Leading the way for the Owls was freshman Paul Carbone who carded a five-over-par 149 (73-76), which was good for 31st overall. Following Carbone were sophomore Matthew Crescenzo who finished tied for 36th as well as junior devin Bibeau and sophomore Russell Hartung who each tied for 44th respectively.

The team was held back by an overwhelming amount of youth compared to the teams that finished near the top of the championship. George Washington won the tournament setting a 36-hole record, they have six seniors and juniors on their roster compared to one junior hitting the links for the Cherry and White.

For a team that is so young struggles early can be expected, it is up to the coaching staff and the roster to work over the summer to develop their talents to reach the true potential that this roster holds.

The summer is the most crucial part of the year for such a young squad. There is a wide amount of tournaments for players who need to improve moving forward such as freshman Mike Amole who has shown potential throughout the year but struggled in Coral Gables. The future certainly looks bright with a young roster but coach Brian Quinn will need to work hard and often to help this team touch the ceiling they are capable of reaching.

-Anthony Bellino

Both the men’s crew and women’s rowing teams competed in the Bergen/Kelly Cup Regatta today on the Schuylkill River.

On a cool clear morning, the men’s crew team placed second in all races except for the Freshmen 4 in the Bergen Cup Regatta.

The Freshmen 4 shell, comprised of coxswain Matthew Ciarela coxswain, Connor Murphy in seat 4, Pat Woodruff in seat 3, Josh Kuzo in seat 2, and Frank Dipentino sitting bow, took first place in their race with a time of 6 minutes and 48.4 seconds.

The closest finish came in the second Varsity 8 competition, with Temple finishing only two seconds behind the first place time of St. Joseph’s.

For the women’s team, the day didn’t go quite as well.

In their competition in the Kelly Cup Regatta, the Owls failed to place higher than third place. Both Varsity 8 competitions had Temple finishing third in front of LaSalle each time.

The Varsity 4 is where the women struggled the most.

With coxswain sophomore Katie Cardwell, sophomore Blair Bradley in seat 4, sophomore Sarah Barber seat 3, sophomore Megan Boyer in seat 2 and sophomore Lauren Kidd sitting bow in the shell, the Owls finished last, nine seconds behind fifth place Drexel.

Up next for the Owls is the Atlantic Ten Conference Championships on May 5th in Pennsauken, New Jersey.

Former Temple players, tight end Evan Rodriguez and linebacker Tahir Whitehead, were drafted by the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions, respectively, on the third day of the NFL Draft.

Rodriguez was drafted 111th overall in the fourth round and Whitehead was selected 138th overall in the fifth round. Rodriguez and Whitehead join former Temple running back Bernard Pierce, who was drafted 84th overall by the Baltimore Ravens, to become the second and third players drafted.

Rodriguez led the Owls with 35 receptions and 479 yards, adding two touchdowns, in the 2011-12 season. Whitehead finished third on the team with 70 tackles, including 11 in the 2011 Gildan New Mexico Bowl in which he was named the game’s defensive most valuable player.

Coach Steve Addazio said Wednesday that he expected three Temple players to get drafted, and another four to sign as free agents. Former Temple offensive lineman Derek Dennis is reportedly receiving looks from NFL teams and could be the fourth Owl drafted.

Former Temple running back Bernard Pierce was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens with the 21st pick (84th overall) of the third round of the NFL Draft on Friday.

Pierce becomes the third Temple player in the past two years to get drafted, joining former Owls Muhammad Wilkerson and Jaiquawn Jarrett of the 2011 class. Wilkerson was drafted by the New York Jets with the 30th overall pick of the first round and Jarrett was selected 54th overall by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Pierce set Temple career and single-season records for  rushing yards, touchdowns and points in his junior season in 2011-12. He finished the year second in the country in rushing touchdowns with 27.

Pierce now has a chance to join Pro Bowl running back Ray Rice in the Ravens’ backfield.

Temple’s second day of the Penn Relays has come and gone, and in the midst of some stellar performances by some of the bigger programs at Franklin Field, the Owls quietly chipped in some solid performances of their own.

Unlike Thursday, Friday’s competition was dominated by men’s events.

The men’s distance medley relay, consisting of redshirt senior Louis Parisi, senior Alan Harding, sophomore Will Kellar and senior distance runner Travis Mahoney, finished second in the ‘B’ heat of the college men’s Distance Medley Relay Championship of America. Harding moved up from fifth to second in the 400 meter leg in a furious last 200 meters, and the final two legs in Keller and Mahoney held the spot.

The men’s 4×100 and 4×200 relays both qualified for the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America finals, to be held Saturday, for the respective events.

The 4×100, consisting of sophomores Josh McFrazier and Alex McGee, and juniors Dylan Pensyl and Damian Myers, placed 35th overall with a time of 41.98 seconds. Pensyl and McFrazier teamed up with sophomores Tyreece Clayton and Carlton Stafford to finish 33rd overall in the 4×200 with a mark of 1:29.46. The 4×100 will be looking to go after a second consecutive IC4A title tomorrow afternoon after last year’s squad won the event’s first gold medal in program history.

The men’s 4×400 finished as the runners-up in the Wetzler/Pa heat. McGee, Harding, Myers and sophomore Lionel Wilson combined for a time of 3:17.16 and finished ahead of rival St. Joseph’s, which finished third.

In field events, sophomore Darryl McDuffle and senior Tim Malloy tied for fourth and seventh respectively in the high jump eastern. McDuffle posted a jump of six feet, nine and three-quarter inches while Malloy jumped for a height of 6-6.75.

In the women’s only event of the day, the sprint medley relay, consisting of Crystal Hercules, Kiersten LaRoche, Brianna Alverez, Shanel Golding, crossed at 4:08.56 to take 30th place.

-Drew Parent