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Faculty Donor - Professor Karen M. Turner

GratiTUesday 2015 Donor Spotlight

Professor Karen M. Turner spends much of her time spearheading diversity initiatives. And when she's not working? We know where to find this superfan. Go Owls!

Karen M. Turner, associate professor of journalism at the Klein College of Media and Communication, gives back to Temple University financially and academically. An avid Temple basketball fan and advocate for race relations, she’s a positive face of support and connection for her students—now and years after graduation.

It’s so generous of you to invest in the institution that also gives you your paycheck. What motivates you to give to Temple?
Diversity initiatives are very important to me, so in 2008 I established the Legacy Award in the Journalism Department. It’s a scholarship for students working on projects that facilitate conversations around race and diversity. One of my passions is to encourage people to have more meaningful, constructive conversations around difference. Because usually when we talk about difference we find we have similarities. And on its face, when you just walk the Temple campus, it looks like a mini UN. But you don’t even have to scratch the surface much and you’ll see that people are often still in their comfort groups. One of the challenges that I think we have at Temple, since we are known in some circles as the “Diversity University,” is to really facilitate a conversation among the students. And I think we can do better. The Legacy Award is designed to help us get there.

And for the future, one can never tell what the issues will be when one passes away, but assuming that we will still be dealing with issues of race and diversity, that’s part of my legacy too—to continue that support even after I’m gone through an endowment that I bequeath to the university. It’s a gift that will benefit the university to continue this kind of work for years to come.

What makes Temple students so special?
There is a toughness, there is a grittiness, there is an authenticity. An interest in making the world better, social justice. I just come across some extraordinary students. I hope I’m around long enough to see the contributions that they make to the world because I think that they will be great.

What’s your favorite part about working at Temple?
It’s the students. That’s why I chose Temple. The first time I went to a Temple graduation I saw how the students really interacted with the faculty and staff; they really wanted their parents and relatives and loved ones to meet the people they spent the last four to five years with. The faculty and the students really have a special relationship. There are students I had when I first started working here 21 years ago and I’m still in touch with them—they actively seek me out and sometimes I think about them and just drop them a line. And I think that’s very unique.

Do you have a favorite Temple moment?
The Syracuse basketball game. When Temple played Syracuse and I went up to the game, and I got off the train and walked up to the Garden with my Temple gear on, and the folks from Syracuse looked like, Who are you coming in here? Temple’s not going to do anything. And then we blew them out. After that I bought season tickets and I’ve been a season ticket holder ever since.

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