Temple University’s acting president died after he collapsed on stage at a campus memorial service on Tuesday, the Philadelphia college announced.
JoAnne A. Epps, 72, experienced what doctors described to reporters as a “sudden episode” while attending a memorial service at the university for Charles L. Blockson, curator of the African American artifact collection.
Epps was scheduled to speak at the event, but had to be escorted out by uniformed police after he slumped in his chair, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
He was taken to Temple University Hospital, where he died around 3:15 p.m
Ken Kaiser, senior vice president and chief operating officer at Temple, said the university was not aware of any prior health problems Epps may have had.
He called her death a “gut punch” for the school community.
JoAnne A. Epps died after a “sudden episode” at a memorial service on Tuesday, Temple University officials announced.AP
“Joanne is full of life, someone who is very compassionate and really cares about other people and has a great way of pulling them all together and getting people excited even with daunting tasks, making things fun,” Kaiser said. to the Associated Press.
Temple University Provost Gregory Mandel held back tears as he described Epps.
“We are all deeply saddened and at a loss for words. To know Joanne is to be her friend,” Mandel said at the press conference.
Temple’s Board of Trustees is scheduled to meet Wednesday to “put together a plan for us as we work through this transition,” Mandel said.
Epps, 72, was named acting president of Temple University in April.AP
Epps was named the university’s acting president in April after Jason Wingard, Temple’s first black president, resigned in March. He is the former dean and provost of Temple law school.
He started working in the university bookstore 40 years ago, and dedicated his career to the betterment of the university’s 33,000-plus students.
Enrollment at the school has plunged by 14% since 2019 and the school experienced rising violent crime near its north Philly campus during his predecessor’s tenure. Epps has made it his goal to improve security and increase enrollment, he told the Inquirer.
Epps intends to be a candidate to fill the position permanently, but said he was chosen to lead the university “to calm things down.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro described her loss as “heartbreaking for Philadelphia,” saying she had been “a powerful force and constant ambassador for Temple University for nearly four decades.”
By Post wire
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
