Open House held for Visualize Temple

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Students and faculty met today with representatives from Smith Group, the design consulting firm in charge of developing a plan for Visualize Temple, in Mitten Hall to discuss their own ideas for a new campus profile.

More than 175 people showed up for the event, said James Creedon, senior vice president for construction, facility and operations, from as far away as Temple’s Harrisburg Campus.

Students sat down at a variety of round tables to speak with representatives from Smith Group and write down their ideas on a variety of topic-related white boards, Creedon said.

One of the most popular discussion areas, Creedon said, was transportation, where many students submitted ideas about more biking options on campus.

“It is like an extension to the Visualize Temple website, but with a little bit more interaction,” Creedon said.

Creedon said that administrators have not yet gone over the results from the event, and thus had not yet determined if it yielded any ideas not yet discussed on the website launched in May.

This is the second time Smith Group has come to Main Campus to meet with students and faculty about Visualize Temple. In May, they met with Student Government, athletics and other groups.

Yesterday, they met with the Faculty Steering Committee which includes Provost Hai-Lung Dai and President Neil Theobald.

Prior to this afternoon’s event, Smith Group met with the Council of Deans. Tomorrow they will meet with administrators to discuss items related to the new library, now set to be built east of Broad Street.

Creedon said that today’s event, held from noon to 2 p.m., was meant to provide a “more general open house” atmosphere.

Alum engineers Yeezus, adds to impressive résumé

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Former BTMM major and 2006 alum Noah Goldstein has done it again.

Goldstein, now a music engineer who has already worked with the likes of Jay-Z, Coldplay and Arcade Fire, received 21 credits on Kanye West’s newly released album “Yeezus.”

Goldstein is credited with engineering each of the album’s 10 tracks, in addition to various production and mixing credits. West hired Goldstein as his engineer after the two met in 2010. Goldstein also engineered West’s 2010 release “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” in addition to his 2011 collaboration with Jay-Z “Watch the Throne.”

Since graduating in 2006, Goldstein has credits on 84 releases, according to his web site. He helped engineer Arcade Fire’s grammy award winning album “The Suburbs” in 2010, in addition to mixing and engineering work on Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” and Big Boi’s “Sir Lucious Left Foot…The Son of Chico Dusty.”

Goldstein was an assistant engineer on Coldplay’s “Mylo Xyloto,” and engineered Fun.’s “Some Nights.”

West’s “Yeezus” has a score of 87 on the aggregate site Metacritic.com, making it one of the most critically-acclaimed albums of the year.

Temple education programs insufficient, says one report.

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A national review of elementary and secondary college programs by the National Council on Teacher Quality has given both of Temple’s programs a mediocre rating in their 2013 review.

The undergraduate elementary program received two out of four stars , and the undergraduate secondary education program received two and a half..

While the undergraduate program received a lower score, it placed higher proportionally, scoring in the 70th percentile our of 594 programs. Temple’s secondary program placed within the 65th percentile out of 606 programs.

The NCTQ rated programs based on four categories: selection criteria, content preparation, professional skills, and outcomes.

Party-goer accused of car jacking

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A Temple student’s vehicle was stolen off of the 1500 block of Sydenham Street, on June 8, around 8:00 p.m.  Police arrested a suspect identified as 21-year-old Ronald Adams, who was not a university student, police said.

Deputy Director of Campus Safety Services Charles Leone said the Temple student had been  hosting a party at his apartment and awoke the morning of June 9,to find his keys had been taken. Adams was a guest at the party, Leone said.  

Adams was apprehended by police via  foot pursuit after he was seen driving the vehicle by the student.

Anthony Wagner, CFO, resigns

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Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Anthony Wagner will resign from his post to take on a similar title at Georgia Regents University.

President Neil Theobald announced Wagner’s departure through a Temple Today statement on June 5.

“Tony has shown a tireless commitment to help Temple University flourish, even in difficult economic times,” Theobald said in the statement.

Wagner will take on the role of executive vice president and chief business officer at Georgia Regents, a health sciences research institution in Athens, Ga. that is part of the University System of Georgia.

Wagner and his wife Lisa were also active at the Newman Center, a Catholic community for students located on North Broad Street.

New dean for College of Education

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The university announced yesterday the hiring of the new dean for the College of Education, the third of six dean appointments expected this year.

Gregory Anderson, the dean of Morgridge College of Education at the University of Denver since 2009, will officially take over his new role on July 1.

Prior to his tenure in Denver, Anderson held a teaching position at Columbia University and was a higher education policy officer at the Ford Foundation in New York.

“Gregory Anderson’s combination of experience and vision has prepared him to lead Temple’s College of Education — a national leader in teaching and research — at a critical moment for education in the city, the state and the nation,” President Theobald said in a statement released by the university. “The College of Education’s future is bright, and its graduates have never been more in need.”

In April, Michael Klein, the interim dean at the College of Science and Technology was appointed to a permanent position. Joseph Lucia, formerly of Villanova University, was also announced as the head of University Libraries in April.

Searches remain in place for the heads of the School of Media and Communication and the College of Health Professions and Social Work.

Police investigating campus fraud

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University police are investigating an incident of fraud at PNC Bank on Liacouras Walk, said Deputy Director of Campus Safety services Charlie Leone.

On April 22, a Temple student attempted to help an unknown male cash a check for $100. The student gave the male $100 cash, and then attempted to deposit the check in to his account. The student was informed this week by PNC that the check was fraudulent and notified authorities.

The incident is not the first of its kind- Leone said that a similar incident occurred with another student within the last few weeks. “It sounds like the same guy,” he said. “I’m pretty confident that we will have an arrest on this.”

Leone said that police are working with PNC to indentify the suspect, and said they are looking for a white or Latino male, 6 feet tall, medium build and scruffy facial hair. He cautioned any student that is approached by someone asking for help cashing a check to contact police immediately.

Suspect arrested in off-campus assault

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A 25-year-old man is in custody after a fight last month that left one man with a broken jaw.

Dominic Pesce was arrested on May 8, police said Wednesday in a release, in connection with an altercation that occurred on the 1700 block of Diamond Street in April.

On April 17 at about 8 p.m., surveillance video shows the 20-year-old victim in a verbal altercation with a group of people. Suddenly, the video shows the victim being punched in the face, resulting in a broken jaw and severe facial injuries, police said.

Pesce, of the 1500 block of West Locust Street, is charged with aggravated assault and related offenses.

 

Greek Week celebrates sorority and fraternity life

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Greek Week, a week that celebrates the various social fraternities and sororities on campus, ended with an awards ceremony held on Thursday night.  Throughout the week a variety of competitions were held that placed sisterhood against sisterhood and brotherhood against brotherhood.
Jessica Goldberg, a member of Alpha Epsilon Phi, reflected upon the experience.

“This week brings a lot of people together.  It’s not about who wins,” said Goldberg.

For many organizations Greek Week 2013 was their first time actively participating in the event.  Events included Greek Sing, Greek God and Goddess, Greek Olympics, and a Can Castle Competition.
Greek Sing, the annual song and dance competition between Temple’s Greek organizations took place April 10. Organizations belted out their best tunes and put their musical skills to the ultimate test.
Phi Sigma Sigma placed first and was able to edge out second and third place winners Delta Zeta and Delta Phi Epsilon in the National Panhellenic Conference division. Alpha Tau Omega took home first in the Inter-fraternity Conference division. Delta Chi Psi’s vocals were enough to earn them first place in the National Multicultural Greek Council division.  Kappa Alpha Psi took home first in the National Pan-Hellenic Council division.

The Greek God and Goddess pageants were held on April 6. Select members from each fraternity and sorority represented their chapters in the contest.

Delta Phi Epsilon was the champion of the National Panhellenic Conference division with Delta Zeta placing a close second.  Kappa Sigma and Alpha Tau Omega tied for first place Inter-fraternity Conference division. Iota Nu Delta took first in the National Multicultural Greek Council division while Alpha Phi Alpha triumphed in the National Pan-Hellenic Council division.

“Best Greek Week ever,” said Joseph Sebastian the president of Iota Nu Delta.
In the Greek Olympics organization members put their best athletic foot forward and competed for the coveted gold medal last Sunday on Temple’s athletic fields.  Delta Zeta was able to clutch the gold medal in the National Panhellenic Conference division.  Alpha Chi Rho placed first in the Inter-fraternity Conference division while Delta Chi Psi won the National Multicultural Greek Council division.

Greek Week’s annual Can Castle Competition took place on April 8. Cans of food were collected and used to build castles by the organizations.  All donations were donated to Philabundance. Delta Phi Epsilon and Phi Sigma Sigma tied for the best castle building skills in the National Panhellenic Conference division. Kappa Sigma and Sigma Alpha Mu also tied in the Inter-fraternity Conference division.  Iota Nu Delta took home first place in the National Multicultural Greek Council division.

Wayne Miletto, a member of Kappa Sigma, was thrilled with a tie.

“I feel great about the whole thing.  We got work done,” said Miletto.

The overall Greek Week winners were Delta Zeta for the National Panhellenic Conference division, Kappa Sigma for the Inter-fraternity Conference division, Alpha Sigma Rho for the National Multicultural Greek Council division, and Alpha Phi Alpha for the National Pan-Hellenic Council division.

The Greek organizations were also able to raise $500 through Relay for Life and two can shakes.

Threatening messages written on bathroom stall

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Two notes threatening actions similar to the infamous shootings at Columbine High School were found written on a bathroom stall in Gladfelter Hall, Fox 29 reported Thursday.

The station reported images of the messages which read: “April 20, 2013, I’ll bring honor to Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold,” and on the same date, “you will all learn the meaning of suffering.”

According to the report, the university first found out about the messages in March. No alert has been released through the TU Alert system.

Fox reported a statement from the university officials which read: “The safety of our students is a top priority. Temple Police have been conducting an investigation into the graffiti message, security has been enhanced on our campus.”

April 20 is the 14th anniversary of the Columbine massacre in Colorado which left 12 dead and 21 injured.