Philadelphia’s only public university has a new leader. John Fry was officially installed as Temple University’s 15th president in April. Fry joined Temple from Drexel University, where he served as the school’s president for 14 years. He started at Temple in November 2024. His investitur e ceremony was held on April 4, 2025. In an interview with NBC10, Fry talked about his bold vision for one of the city’s anchor institutions. “I think we should aspire to be one of the top ten public urban research universities in the country. I believe 100% we can do that,” said Fry.  “We have a way to go. There are a lot of challenges and opportunities along the way.” Fry said he views the main challenges for the university as public safety, enrollment, and funding. Temple’s Public Safety Challenges In terms of public safety, Fry acknowledged a difficult decade at Temple. “I think we are turning it around. The crime statistics are better than they were before,” said Fry. “There has been a focus on that, significant investments, and I think the numbers show we are beginning to make progress.” When asked how he would respond to concerns over public safety, Fry called upon his experience working at the University of Pennsylvania three decades ago and the tactics they used to improve that area of West Philadelphia. He said they invested heavily in police, security, security technology, and also made investments in environmental issues, including better lighting. “What happened after that, which is what we are hoping to do here, is significant investments in the public realm in terms of development, corridors, especially along Broad Street,” said Fry. “Heavy, heavy development which tends to keep people on the streets later at night which creates a safer environment.” Fry said he believes the combination of policing and dense development turned things around in West Philly. “But then again it took decades to do that, so I think we need to be committed, which we are, to a sort of long-term view of not only investing in Temple police, but also investing heavily in this public environment, particularly on Broad Street,” said Fry. “It will take time, but there is a playbook for doing this and we will execute that playbook.” Finances, Uncertainty, and Fundraising “Of course, we are a tuition dependent institution so how goes enrollment, how goes our finances,” said Fry. “But I’m feeling very good about fundraising. I think we have a lot of possibilities.” While tuition at Temple is down compared to 2017, the university saw a large increase in enrollment this past fall with the class of 2028. “I think financially, we know what we need to do, and we are going to get there,” said Fry. Fry shared concerns over uncertainty with the federal government and federal funding. “I am hoping that obviously people realize the kinds of investments they make in higher ed, federal investments in higher ed have such a huge impact on American society and the rest of the world,” said Fry. Fundraising will be a big focus for Fry. He said the university will soon launch a fundraising campaign that will run through 2034. At his investiture ceremony, Fry announced a historic $27.5 million gift from philanthropists Sidney and Caroline Kimmel to name the new home for the Klein College of Media and Communication. Growing Temple In terms of boosting enrollment, Fry said he hopes to leverage more online opportunities. “I think the biggest opportunity for us is online. We don’t do a whole lot of online programs here and I think just sort of given where we are right now and how technology is able to make things happen. We need to have a much bigger online presence,” said Fry. “That’s part of our access mission. We have many people who want to take advantage of a Temple education, but they can’t get to North Philly because they have jobs, busy lives, kids. Why not allow us to bring it to them?” Fry said the keyword is flexibility. He believes the institution needs to be more flexible with how they deliver a Temple education and online is a huge part of it. Paired with his goals of growing the physical campus and growing the international campuses, he believes online efforts will help boost enrollment. Connecting with Community Fry agrees with the belief that a stronger Temple means a stronger Philadelphia. As an anchor institution, he hopes to have more of an impact on the local community. “I would like to see this area of North Philadelphia be much safer, more vibrant place from a public realm standpoint. I would like to see us work significantly more with our local public schools K-8 to make sure Temple is a real partner here in the education of our kids particularly in North Philadelphia,” said Fry. “I would love to be seen as a real catalyst for economic development on Broad Street in terms of commercial development, residential, and retail. And I think we have the scale and we have the skill to do that.” Fry was recently appointed to the board of directors for the North Broad Renaissance, an organization with a mission to enhance economic vitality and overall quality of North Broad Street. ...read more read less