Daily Archives: 10 April 2014

Trustees hold committee meetings on finances and policy

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Temple will pay off Temple Japan’s debts, shift a small pension plan from monthly payments to one final lump sum and allow different offices to have their own credit cards, the Board of Trustees announced at two committee meetings today.

Temple Japan owes $6.3 million on a loan that could be paid off now since the dollar’s value is high, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Ken Kaiser explained to the trustees. Paying off the loan immediately would save about $1.2 million.

“This seems like a no-brainer,” Chairman Patrick O’Connor said. The recommendation was passed with one motion to abstain from trustee J. William Mills, who is PNC Bank’s Regional President for Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey. The loan in question was a PNC loan.

The executive committee also discussed the termination of the Interest Pension Plan, a plan started in 1946 that gives retired employees annuity payments. MetLife, the disperser of the payments, urged Temple to reform the plan.

Of the initial 200 signed up, 28 retired employees still draw from the fund. They will be given a lump sum that can be re-invested into another retirement plan, Kaiser said. The fund’s total value is $185,000.

The third recommendation concerned an amendment of a policy concerning credit cards for university offices to pay certain expenses. With the new policy, there will be a higher spending threshold before offices are required to obtain administrative pre-approval.

The Budget and Finance Committee met first in executive session before moving to public session, and made one recommendation concerning Temple Japan’s finances. Then the meeting shifted to casual chatting, where Provost Hai-Lung Dai and President Neil Theobald, when asked about the current state of admissions, revealed that 28 thousand students were competing for 4,700 undergraduate seats.

The executive committee met next and made the three recommendations. The public session meeting, which consisted of many of the trustees from the Budget and Finance Committee including McNichol and Lewis Gould Jr., lasted for about fifteen minutes.

The trustees’ general body will meet on May 13 at 3:30 p.m.

Joe Brandt can be reached at joseph.brandt@temple.edu or on Twitter at @JBrandt_TU.

Owls on the Hill Day changes to email only

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Administrators announced on Wednesday that Owls on the Hill Day would be cancelled and instead students, parents, alumni, faculty and staff are being asked to electronically submit personal letters to lawmakers advocating for Temple’s state appropriations.

Andrew McGinley, public affairs and policy manager, said that many of the students who wanted to go were unable to because of the event’s proximity to final exams. The annual Cherry and White Week events were planned for a later date than is typical in the past due to scheduling conflicts at the State Capitol building, McGinley said.

The previous two years’ Cherry and White weeks were held in late March.

“The scheduling is beyond our control,” McGinley said. “It’s based on space availability in the Capitol Building. We use a lot of space during that week and there’s lots of other unions and charities and other groups that also want space in the capitol building. So it got pushed back.”

Other Cherry and White Week events include an academic presentation in Harrisburg by the Institute for Public Affairs, followed by art and music students as well as researchers presenting to lawmakers. These events will still be held on April 28 and 30, respectively. Owls on the Hill Day was originally planned to have students personally meet with lawmakers on April 29 to lobby for state appropriations.

McGinley said the letters don’t need to be long or formal, just personal.

“Elected officials want to hear from constituents,” McGinely said. “This year we’re asking people to just write a note…[It will be] via email. It will go through our system so they [those writing to legislators] don’t have to look up emails. Its very quick and simple.”

McGinley said the switch is not expected to be a permanent decision.

Marcus McCarthy can be reached at marcus.mccarthy@temple.edu or on Twitter at @marcusmccarthy6.

TU Believe win 2014 TSG elections

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The results of the 2014 Temple Student Government elections were announced Thursday afternoon, and TU Believe won the leadership, defeating opponents Renew TU. Ray Smeriglio will take over as student body president beginning next semester, and his running mates, Julia Crusor and Blair Alston will serve as vice presidents.

“I had a small crying fit,” Crusor said of the victory. “This is something we really wanted for a long time.”

Rachel Applewhite, vice presidential candidate from Renew TU, said the loss was disappointing because her team worked very hard to win.

“I hope [TU Believe] will use some of our ideas going forward,” Applewhite said. “I would love to help out on TSG where I’m needed.”

A total of 1,716 votes were cast, according to a tally by TSG election commissioners. It was lower than the total from last year’s election, which counted 2,075 votes.

TU Believe won 961 votes, or 56%, and Renew TU received 755 votes, or 44%.

TSG election commissioner Dylan Morpurgo said the drop-in voter turnout meant TSG didn’t communicate as effectively as it could have to students.

“Voter turnout can always be higher,” Morpurgo said. “Because campus is so busy and diverse, people are not always connected to what’s going on.”

In other ways, Morpurgo said the election was an improvement. “Both teams made a really concerted effort to run a clean campaign,” he said. “The debates were very cordial. That wasn’t always the case in the past.”

Crusor said TU Believe has “big shoes to fill,” as they prepare to lead the student body in the fall.

Joe Gilbride can be reached at joseph.gilbride@temple.edu.