Temple University

Temple University

Motto	Perseverantia Vincit (Latin)
Motto in English	Perseverance Conquers
Type	Public (formerly private) State-related Multi-campus International
Established	1884
Academic affiliations	APLU CUMU
Endowment	$513.6 million (2016)
President	Richard M. Englert
Academic staff	1,599 part time; 2,089 full time
Students	39,515
Undergraduates	28,408
Postgraduates	9,543
Location	Philadelphia
Campus	Urban (Main campus) 115 acres (46.5 ha)
Colors	Cherry, White
Athletics	NCAA Division I – AAC, FBS Philadelphia Big 5
Nickname	Owls
Mascot	Hooter T. Owl Stella (Live Mascot)
Website	www.temple.edu

Temple University (commonly referred to as Temple) is an American state-related-public doctoral university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by Baptist Minister Russell Conwell. In 1882, Conwell came to Pennsylvania to lead the Grace Baptist Church while he began tutoring working class citizens late at night to accommodate their work schedules. These students, later dubbed "night owls," were taught in the basement of Conwell's Baptist Temple, hence the origin of the university's name and mascot. By 1907, the institution revised its institutional status and incorporated as a university.

In 2014, Temple received over $225 million in research funding, ranking it 94th out of 643 institutions in the NSF’s Higher Education Research and Development Survey. As of 2016, more than 39,500 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students were enrolled in over 400 academic degree programs offered at seven campuses and sites in Pennsylvania, and international campuses in Rome, Tokyo, Singapore and London. Temple is among the nation's largest providers of professional education (law, medicine, podiatry, pharmacy, dentistry, and architecture), preparing the largest body of professional practitioners in Pennsylvania.

Postcard depicting the original Baptist Temple and Russell Conwell

President Harry S. Truman visits Temple University

Martin Luther King, Jr. lecturing at Temple University

Temple University was founded in 1884 by Russell Conwell, a Yale-educated Boston lawyer, orator, and ordained Baptist minister, who had served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Conwell came to Pennsylvania in 1882 to lead the Grace Baptist Church while he began tutoring working class citizens late at night to accommodate their work schedules. These students, later dubbed "night owls," were taught in the basement of Conwell's Baptist Temple, hence the origin of the university's name and mascot. The Grace Baptist Church quickly grew popular within the North Philadelphia area. A temporary board of trustees was created to handle the rapidly growing formalities associated with the church's programs. When the board conducted its first meeting they named Russell H. Conwell president of "The Temple College." Within the following months, Grace Baptist Church appointed a new board of trustees, printed official admissions files, and issued stock to raise funds for new teaching facilities. Regardless of whether they had the resources to support the school, Conwell’s desire was “to give education to those who were unable to get it through the usual channels”.