From all of us at the Temple University Alumni Association, happy holidays and best wishes for the new year! We look forward to serving you in 2010 and hope to see you at one of our many events on campus, in Philadelphia and across the nation.
Find out more about our affinity groups and regional clubs as well as other Alumni Association events at myowlspace.com.
Temple’s own Bill Cosby has been named the winner of the 2010 Marian Anderson Award for his humanitarian work, and will be honored at the Kimmel Center on April 6. He’s only the second Philadelphia-born recipient of the award and the first Temple grad to achieve such an honor.
Read more in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer, which also features a front-page story about Temple’s rising admissions standards and master plan for Main Campus.
Temple Men’s Basketball is on fire. With a five-game winning streak, including victories over Big East giants Villanova and Seton Hall, the Owls have earned a spot in the top 25 rankings. The AP poll puts Temple at No. 21 while the ESPN/USA Today poll ranks the Owls No. 25.
The key to the Owls success is a stellar defense and great leadership. Their scoring defense currently ranks No. 3 in the nation while their 3-point scoring defense ranks No. 4. Temple’s team is well balanced, too, with several players stepping up to lead on the court, including senior co-captains Ryan Brooks and Luis Guzman.
You can catch the Owls in action during the university’s holiday break. Tickets are still available for these upcoming games:
For game tickets, visit www.owlstix.com.
Liberty Mutual’s Coach of the Year voting is back, and Temple Head Football Coach Al Golden has made the final cut! Now, he needs our help to clinch the No. 1 spot and earn $50,000 for the charity of his choice and $20,000 for the alumni association. Visit www.coachoftheyear.com to vote today, and every day! (I’ve voted three times so far.)
Why vote Golden? Besides the fact that he’s lead Temple’s football team to its first bowl game in 30 years, Golden positively represents the university far beyond the playing field. He’s helped the Owls to make significant academic progress, showing that he cares about the student just as much as the athlete; he’s brought the team into the community to improve the quality of life in Philadelphia, visiting local children’s hospitals, hosting bone marrow drives and sponsoring a thanksgiving food drive each year; he’s brought pride back to Temple Athletics, drawing unprecedented crowds at the Linc and national recognition to the school.
In this season of giving, share your Temple love with your friends and family by sending our fun and festive e-cards. When you make an online gift of any size to any area of the university before Dec. 31, 2009, you will gain access to our e-card web page.
Choose from a variety of seasonal e-cards featuring iconic Temple places, the cutest-ever myowlspace owls and Temple Ts. Visit myowlspace.com/makeagift today.
The Liacouras Center was packed with energy on Sunday afternoon as the Owls took on #3 Villanova in a much-anticipated Big Five match-up. Led by sophomore Juan Fernandez, who scored a career-high 33 points (that boy was on fire!), Temple defeated a top-five school for the first time since 2000. Already charged up with football’s bowl berth, students charged the floor after the game to celebrate what looks to be a whole new era in Temple athletics.
Chanting “We want Kansas!” as they celebrated at center court, the student section is already anticipating an upset of the #1 ranked team when they travel to Owl Country on Jan. 2. Don’t miss out on the action: You can buy a pre-game reception and ticket package through the Temple University Alumni Association for $65 per person. Or, if you already have your ticket, you can attend the reception for $30 per person. Registration ends on Dec. 18.
The Temple football team’s commitment to community service often continues long after graduation. For example, Raheem Brock, SBM ’08, defensive tackle for the Indianapolis Colts, and several current members of the team recently took 45 school-aged children on a shopping spree funded by Brock.
Registration is open for Senior Scholars spring courses, and classes are filling up fast! Through the Senior Scholars program, alumni and their spouses/partners age 50 and up can audit courses taught by Temple’s renowned professors alongside current undergraduate students. At $100 per course, it’s an opportunity not to be missed.
Some perennial favorites and new additions include:
Visit myowlspace.com/seniorscholars to view the spring course offerings and to register for the upcoming semester. Registration closes on Monday, Jan 4.
The fan voting has closed in Liberty Mutual’s Coach of the Year contest, and our own Head Football Coach Al Golden finished in the No. 13 spot, thanks to the voting of Temple’s loyal alumni and fans. Golden, who is leading the Owls to their first bowl game in 30 years, beat out Penn State’s Joe Paterno, Texas Tech’s Mike Leach and many other coaching greats with more than 7,000 votes.
Now, the top 15 coaches go through an extensive evaluation process before the finalist voting opens up again on Dec. 15. On that date, check www.coachoftheyear.com to see if Golden qualifies for the next round and, if so, start casting your votes. You can vote once a day and share your pick on facebook.
The winner of Coach of the Year earns $50,000 to donate to the charity his choice, as well as a $20,000 grant to donate to the university’s alumni association.
Today Temple issued the following statement in response to the action this week in the state General Assembly regarding the Commonwealth Appropriation for state-related schools:
“We are extremely concerned with the continued delay on a final vote for the appropriation for Temple University. The failure to act has continuing financial consequences for the University and creates an unacceptable level of uncertainty for our students, families and employees. We remain hopeful that the appropriation will pass next week but we are preparing to take action if it does not.”
Temple has been without its state funding — $178.5 million, accounting for approximately 20 percent of its budget — since the new fiscal year began on July 1, 2009. Learn more about current legislative activities that affect the university at http://www.temple.edu/newsroom/TUGovtAffairs.
Temple University Alumni News 