Former Temple president takes job at University of Wyoming

Neil D. Theobald, former president of Temple University, has a new job —  vice president of finance and administration at the University of Wyoming.

Theobald resigned from Temple in 2016 as the board of trustees was preparing to meet to vote on dismissing him. He was under fire for a shortfall in the university's merit-scholarship budget and his dismissal of the provost. He led the North Philadelphia university for 3½ years.

Theobald was selected for the University of Wyoming position from among four finalists. He and his wife have had a second home in Laramie, Wyo., where the university is based, for a decade, according to a news release from the university.

"My passion is analyzing the challenges facing the institution I work for and then bringing people together to create clearly stated strategies and priorities," Theobald said in a statement. "I know the importance of building and maintaining strong relationships with public officials and, also, working collaboratively within a university for the good of the whole institution."

Theobald currently serves as senior adviser to the president for financial and governmental affairs at Indiana University, where he worked before coming to Temple.

At Temple, Theobald, an education-finance expert, launched a "Fly in Four" program to encourage students to graduate in four years, removed the requirement that students submit SAT scores for admission, and settled a faculty union contract in a manner described by the then-union president as "the most cooperative negotiation we've ever had." His tenure also saw record fund-raising and increased research prominence.

But he also endured a bruising battle over the decision to eliminate some popular sports programs in 2014 and had been leading the charge on controversial plans to build a football stadium on campus.

Theobald starts his new job July 1.