Entering her fourth year as Temple University's president, Ann Weaver Hart soon will unveil what could become her signature project: making Broad Street the focal point of the university.

She envisions an eye-catching flagship library - a new academic soul for Temple that would be accessible to both neighborhood residents and students. Also in the plan, soon to be unveiled as part of the university's recognition of its 125th anniversary, are a high-rise residence hall and a spacious student center that may or may not be part of the library, both along the Broad Street corridor.

The campus center then would get a "big green space."

"We want to bring our students out of the neighborhood and onto Broad Street," Hart said one afternoon last month during a tour of the North Philadelphia school she has led since July 2006.

"So, over the next 10 years, you will see us focusing on student life, on recreation and development, on study centers, and on these buildings right on Broad Street. That's where I believe we can advance the vision of Philadelphia and its recovery and development."

University officials declined to reveal the price tag, how they planned to pay for it, or other details of the plan, dubbed Temple 2020, which has been endorsed by the Board of Trustees. Hart's administration will release the blueprint after the state budget is passed and current financing is clearer.

During a recent interview, Hart described how she would like to make the school more visible from the city's main artery and reflected on the challenges she has faced running the nearly 37,000-student college.

In the last year, there have been several.

Her administration recently secured a tentative agreement with its 1,280 faculty union after 14 months of negotiation, but the talks left union leaders feeling bruised.

Some state lawmakers were miffed when Temple Health System moved to close Northeastern Hospital. When they threatened to hold up $175 million in funding, Temple launched an aggressive campaign, including a Web site petition signed by 9,000.

But the dustup, recently resolved, has raised questions from some about the Hart administration's political acumen, and the board chairman wants her to have a stronger voice in the state Capitol.

And even as her administration proceeds with plans for Broad Street, the university continues to contend with concerns from some community leaders over parking and student housing.

Add to those the challenges of running a public higher-education institution buffeted by diminishing state funding, a teetering economy, and the growing needs of a diversified student body.

"This is probably one of the most horrible times to be a university president," said Ralph Taylor, a professor of criminal justice, "and she's done an awful lot of good stuff. Anyone you could talk to would have a long list of things that haven't been done. But in this time, you've got to be realistic."

Sen. Michael Stack 3d (D., Phila.), a trustee for six years, said some people thought Hart would get "eaten alive" in Philadelphia's tough, politically charged environment, having grown up in Salt Lake City and having worked previously at a largely white, bucolic New England campus. Not to mention her being the university's first female president.

"She has surprised a lot of people," he said. "The board is still somewhat of an old boys' network, and she's done quite well with them."

Others say she hasn't been as accessible as they would like, and union leaders, in particular, felt she didn't do enough to bring about a settlement more quickly.

"When Ann Hart came, we really had high hopes, but we became disillusioned," said Arthur Hochner, president of the Temple Association of University Professionals. "But right now, my goal is to get the contract ratified by labor and management and to try to repair the relationship."

A teacher at heart

Hart, 60, well-polished, with stylishly cut short hair, started her career as a public school teacher and later became a junior high principal.