Dr. Glena Temple, Viterbo University vice president of academic affairs, has been named president of Viterbo University. She will succeed retiring Viterbo president Dr. Rick Artman on January 1. The news was announced at a campus press conference August 2.
“I am very honored to have been entrusted to lead Viterbo University,” Dr. Temple said. “Viterbo is a very special place, and I will do my best to uphold the incredible legacy of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration as I serve the entire university community.”
Dr. Temple began at Viterbo as a faculty member in the biology department in 2001. She served as dean of the School of Letters and Sciences from 2008–2013. In 2013, she was named associate vice president for academic affairs. She left Viterbo for one year to work in online and distance education for the University of Wisconsin Colleges. In 2015, she returned to Viterbo as vice president of academic affairs.
Dr. Temple earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, a Ph.D. in botany and plant sciences from the University of California –Riverside, and a Master of Arts degree in educational policy and administration from the University of Minnesota.
The members of the Viterbo Board of Trustees were unanimous in their choice of Temple to lead Viterbo University.
“Glena Temple is supremely qualified to lead Viterbo University, now and into the future,” said Kent Handel, chair of the Viterbo Board of Trustees. “She is highly respected by her colleagues, university students, and members of the La Crosse higher education community. She has the full confidence and well-wishes of the Board of Trustees.”
Current Viterbo president Dr. Rick Artman will be awarded the title of President Emeritus upon his retirement.
“Glena is an outstanding choice to serve as the president of Viterbo University,” Dr. Artman said. “She has demonstrated excellence as a teacher, scholar, administrator, and a key member of the Viterbo leadership team.”
