Dear Colleagues,

I write to share that Michael Gebhardt has been named Temple University’s next Chief Compliance Officer. He will begin his new role on Feb. 1, following the retirement of Susan Smith.

For more than 20 years, Michael has been a mainstay of the Temple community, serving in broad-based roles in the legal department and university administration. He is deeply committed to this institution and its mission. A lawyer by trade, Michael is a gifted communicator and deeply experienced in both assessing and managing complex situations. Through the search process, it became clear that Michael is the ideal person to lead the Ethics and Compliance Office (ECO) and ensure that it continues to be a national model for what a well-organized compliance function can accomplish.

In particular, Michael’s legal background and decades of institutional knowledge position him well for taking on this role, specifically given the vexing challenges facing research universities. At Temple, and in accordance with best practice in compliance, the independence of the ECO is buttressed by a direct reporting line to the Board of Trustees, in addition to the president. Michael already has the benefit of a positive working relationship with the Board, having spent the last five years as University Secretary.

Please join me in congratulating Michael as he prepares to take on this important new role, and thanking Susan for her decades of devoted and effective service to Temple.

Sincerely,

John Fry
President