Elmer Smith: Temple's close, can take you far

I ASKED STUDENTS in my journalism class what comes to mind when they think of Temple University.

"Access" was the first word out of one student's mouth.

"What does that mean to you?" I asked the others.

"It's right on the subway line," said one young woman. "You can get there from anywhere in the city."

She didn't mean it metaphorically. But I was stunned by how profound her unintended analogy was.

From the precincts of the privileged to enclaves of the underclass, you can get to Temple from anywhere. More importantly, you can get anywhere from there.

I'll spare you the roll call of distinguished alums whose careers began on North Broad Street. What I will say without fear of contradiction is that there are Temple grads serving with distinction in virtually every important field of endeavor in America.

It's almost impossible to overstate the impact Temple University has had on this region. As recently as 10 years ago, one out of five Philadelphians had earned at least one of their degrees at Temple.

Since its founding by the Rev. Russell H. Conwell in the basement of a North Philadelphia Baptist Church, far more people have earned degrees there than at any other university in the area.

Conwell's student seminars started 125 years ago, when one of his assistant pastors and three friends asked Conwell to help them finish their education.

It wasn't until four years later that it was formally chartered as Temple College. But all this year, with surprisingly little fanfare, Temple is celebrating its 125th anniversary.

I'll leave it to historians to argue the date. But for me, that modest beginning in the basement of a church marked the birth of one of this city's most important institutions.

There was an ad campaign a few years ago when Temple was trying to position itself as a top-tier academic institution.

"I could have gone anywhere," the distinguished student or professor in the ad would proclaim proudly. "I chose Temple."

Temple alums, myself included, felt a sense of pride when we heard those ads. But they didn't tell my story or the stories of thousands of students like me.

I could not have gone anywhere but Temple. I had a wife and a newborn daughter when I got accepted at Temple. I couldn't afford to give up my full-time job to go to school.

Nor could I pass up the opportunity that my acceptance letter from Temple represented. I was like hundreds of my fellow students who worked full time while going to school full time.

There is no way that I would be in the position I am in today if one of the best schools of journalism in America hadn't been a few subway stops away.

The neighborhood has changed in 125 years. Conventional wisdom is that it's not the same rich mother lode of raw materials it once was.

But Russell Conwell's best-known sermon about the "acres of diamonds" to be found "in your own back yard if you will but dig them" is as true now as it was 125 years ago.

A front-page story in yesterday's Inquirer is an example of how Temple is still on task, still polishing and perfecting the jewels at its feet.

Temple is forging a partnership with the School District of Philadelphia to open an "early-college high school" near the campus. The school could create a synergy between Temple education majors and high school-aged students who could get an early start on their college education.

More importantly, it would say to children in North Philadelphia that this campus right here in your neighborhood can be your gateway to a better future.

It's what legendary Temple basketball coach John Chaney meant in his retirement speech when he urged the university to "stay the course" that Conwell had set.

Some 125 years since Russell Conwell set that course, you can still get to Temple from anywhere. And I'm a witness that you can get anywhere from there.

Send e-mail to smithel@phillynews.com or call 215-854-2512. For recent columns: http://go.philly.com/smith