Campaign News
The Baptist Temple
The Baptist Temple Renovation
The transformation of the historic Baptist Temple into a premier event center has taken another important step forward with stabilization of the structure and the launch of the reconstruction phase.
Opened in 1891, the Temple was one of the largest Protestant churches in the United States when built. Today, the Temple is poised to reclaim its historic role at the heart of Temple University and the surrounding community. When it reopens in early 2010, the Temple will be a state-of-the-art, multi-purpose venue hosting music concerts, dance performances, speakers, meetings, community events and more.
As part of its extensive $29 million renovation, the Temple has seen its interior support structure and exterior roofing, windows and masonry restored during the past year. The current phase of construction is creating event spaces for large and small gatherings, generous lobbies and administrative, storage and support spaces.
The renovated structure will be impressive, but the Temple’s success will be measured by its unique role in the region. Right now, there is no mid-size venue in the Philadelphia-area like the Temple. A vibrant programming schedule will be developed collaboratively with art groups and other arts venues from throughout the city and suburbs, offering a much-needed setting to showcase the best the region has to offer.
“The Temple renovation will revive a landmark, enliven a campus, inspire a neighborhood and strengthen our community through artistic and educational excellence,” says Charles Henry Bethea, executive director of the Temple.
The 36,000-square-foot-structure will feature a soaring main auditorium with flexible seating for up to 1,200 people. Integrated audio/visual and sound systems, including recording capability, will be available for varied types of performances, symposia and lectures.
The Temple’s lower level, in the area formerly occupied by the Chapel of Four Chaplains, will be transformed into an intimate space rich in Romanesque detail. “This flexible space will be for performances and social events,” says Bethea.
Despite the Temple’s complete makeover inside, the building will retain many facets of its original character. In particular, the iconic Rose Window will be preserved. “The renovated Temple is going to be a fresh and breathtaking new version of an old familiar friend,” Bethea says.
For more information and unique naming opportunities, visit www.temple.edu/baptisttemple or contact 215-204-1001.
The World's Top Fine Arts Prize
Jack Wolgin, Philadelphia real estate developer, philanthropist and renowned patron of the arts, has presented Temple's Tyler School of Art with a pledge of $3.7 million to endow the world's largest annual prize to be awarded exclusively to an individual fine artist winning a juried competition.
Wolgin's gift, the largest received by Tyler since its inception, will create the $150,000 Wolgin International Prize in the Fine Arts. The prize will be awarded to artists who create work that transcends traditional boundaries and exemplifies the highest level of excellence in painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, ceramics, metals, glass or fibers.
The work of the artists winning the competition — known as the Jack Wolgin International Competition in the Fine Arts at the Tyler School of Art at Temple University — will be the subject of an annual exhibition at Tyler's $75 million, state-of-the-art facility on Temple's Main Campus in Philadelphia. The first competition will take place in the fall of 2009, followed by an exhibition in the new building's gallery space in October 2009.
"Temple University, the Tyler School of Art and the citizens of Philadelphia are grateful to Jack Wolgin," said Temple President Ann Weaver Hart. "We will all be enriched by the magnificent art that the Wolgin Prize will bring to the Tyler School's new home at Temple. When combined with the effect of the studio programs' move to the city, the competition will enhance both Temple's and Philadelphia's reputations as arts leaders — not just in the nation, but in the world."
An international panel of fine arts leaders will nominate artists eligible to compete for the Wolgin International Prize in the Fine Arts. The complete eligibility and nomination process will be determined by Feb. 1, 2009 (updates and information will be posted at the Wolgin Competition's official web site, www.temple.edu/tyler/wolginprize).
"The Wolgin International Prize in the Fine Arts is my opportunity to make a statement to the world about Philadelphia as a great city for the arts," Wolgin said. "By having the prize at Temple University's Tyler School of Art, the work of great artists will be seen by — and be an inspiration to — students and Philadelphia residents of all backgrounds."
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Wolgin attended Penn State University and the University of Pennsylvania School of Law before becoming chief civilian contract officer for the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps during World War II. Over the next 25 years, Wolgin purchased land and stocks, helped create a bank, formed a pioneering home improvement financing company, acquired major mortgage and petroleum companies and helped organize Pennsylvania's first real estate investment trust. Starting in the early 1970s, Wolgin began to develop many major real estate projects in Philadelphia and beyond, including iconic Center City projects such as the Rittenhouse Hotel (which he helped conceive), the 1700 Market Street office building and the Centre Square office complex near City Hall.
The Centre Square plaza at 15th and Market streets is home to Wolgin's most influential public art commission, Claes Oldenburg's "Clothespin" (1976), an enormous sculpture that Philadelphia Inquirer culture writer Stephan Salisbury has called "the piece that has probably done more than any other work of art or architecture to redefine the [Philadelphia] cityscape."
"Jack Wolgin has always been a bold thinker with a reputation for pushing boundaries; he has done it again with the Wolgin Prize," said Therese Dolan, Tyler's interim dean and a leading art historian. "In that sense, he has much in common with the students and faculty of the Tyler School of Art. They share a creative spirit — and now they also share a home and an emotional investment in the city of Philadelphia. It's a perfect match."
An active civic leader, Wolgin helped found the Theatre of the Living Arts and has held leadership positions with the City of Philadelphia Art Commission, the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, the Institute of Contemporary Art, the Curtis Institute of Music, the Federation of Jewish Agencies, the Philadelphia Fellowship Committee, the Mayor's Commission on Higher Education, the Albert Einstein Medical Center and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. In Israel, where he has made several transformational gifts, Wolgin is a board member of the Israel Museum, the Jerusalem Foundation and the American Friends of Hebrew University.
Wolgin's name graces two other major awards: the Wolgin Prize for Israeli Cinema — Israel's equivalent of the Academy Award — is awarded annually at the Jerusalem Film Festival, an event he founded and continues to sponsor; the Wolgin Prize for Scientific Excellence is awarded annually by Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science.
Coming Through for Temple
It was through sheer determination and perseverance that Elyse Goldfarb Ruth, CLA ’71, became the first in her family to earn a college degree. Now, through a new scholarship fund, she is making sure students with the same drive and abilities have the help they need to go to Temple, regardless of their backgrounds or situations.
Six years after graduating from Philadelphia High School for Girls, Ruth knew her career options were few. She was working two jobs to support herself, her mother and her sister, and neither position promised any kind of growth. Ruth, for whom new challenges are as essential as fresh air, was suffocating.
That’s when family friend Philip Spergel, CLA ’56, ’59, EDU ’68, who was working toward his doctorate in education, told her about Temple. “He said to me, ‘You really need to start doing something with your life. Why don’t you take a course at night at Temple?’” Spergel—someone with whom Ruth would stay in contact for decades to come—helped her pick her first college course: "Cultural Anthropology."
“The course really opened things up for me,” she says. “I decided that, if things went well, I would try to find enough in student loans and financial aid so that I could stop working and start going to Temple full time.”
Finding the money presented a problem. Ruth found that most scholarships were available to students coming right out of high school. “There just didn’t seem to be anything at all for me,” she recalls. Finally, by securing student loans and continuing to work, she was able to begin attending school full time.
Ruth earned a degree in economics, magna cum laude. She was hired by the IRS, first as a tax auditor, and later in the Office of International Operations and as a program analyst. “And when that turned into a dead end, I decided to do what I had done once before so successfully: Quit work and go to college full time.” Always pushing herself, Ruth earned her juris doctor from the University of Virginia and began work as a tax attorney in Los Angeles.
Today, Ruth credits Temple with opening a door to her future success. To help others achieve their potential, she has established a full-tuition scholarship fund to benefit talented, motivated students who are returning to formal education after an absence of seven years or more.
“I wanted to help somebody like myself: somebody who has everything they need to succeed in college, but doesn’t have the tuition,” she explains. “I hope that they’ll give back to Temple as I want to give back to Temple.”
Recently retired from law but driven as ever, Ruth now seeks out personally rewarding challenges, such as learning to play the piano—a lifelong goal. She also stays very active, and in the past several months made a trip to Alaska’s farthest reaches and took a two-day bicycle trip around Lake Tahoe.
Of her recent gift to the university—a gift that pushed Temple past the $300 million mark in its Access to Excellence campaign—Ruth says she’s just returning the favor.
“Temple certainly came through for me when I needed it. I’m glad I can come through for Temple now.”
