A Message from Vice President and Director of Athletics Arthur Johnson

Temple Athletics Family,

Since January of this year, our department has been working to develop a new vision statement and establish core values by which we will all strive to operate. With the changing landscape of intercollegiate athletics, I felt it was important for us to collaborate to position ourselves for the future. As members of the staff and I set out to embark on this task, we were guided by Temple University alum, executive coach, and leadership consultant Michael Gaines (Fox '93). Michael served as an invaluable facilitator throughout the entire process, and we are forever grateful for his passion and love for our university.

When we started the process, two of our priorities were to listen to and be inclusive of key stakeholders. We began by surveying coaches, staff, and a sample of student-athletes from the past and the present. Their feedback provided insight on what they feel makes Temple an impactful and special place and shined light on areas for us to improve.

With data collected from our survey, members of the staff and I gathered for a two-day retreat, led by Michael, to begin crafting our vision and values. We spent 18 hours communicating openly, sharing our thoughts and ideas, and reflecting upon our own personal values. I believe it was a memorable two days that positively impacted our leadership team and laid the foundation for Temple Athletics for years to come. We departed the retreat with drafts of our vision statement and core values more unified as a team, ready to begin the work.

The input from the surveys, along with the discussions and ideas shared during the retreat, served as the foundation for our work ahead. Over the weeks that followed, members of our leadership team and I began socializing our drafts, which included meeting with each head coach to seek their feedback. Assistant coaches, athletics staff, graduate externs, the Temple Owl Club Board, and a group of student-athletes were also given an opportunity to share their observations and feedback on what they feel makes Temple University unique. This inclusive process extracted vital information which resulted in valuable revisions to our drafts.

I want to thank everyone who participated in our surveys, and the stakeholders who tracked and facilitated the evolution of our Vision and Values from draft to design to implementation. We are excited to share the summation of hours of work and significant scrutiny. As you read our new Vision and Values, we hope you are inspired and filled with enthusiasm for our direction and path moving forward.

Your continued support is deeply appreciated, and I look forward to seeing you at our events around campus this upcoming academic year.

GO OWLS!!

Arthur Johnson

Temple University Athletics

A Message from Vice President and Director of Athletics Arthur Johnson

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