James P. Mall, professor of French emeritus, died June 24, 2023. He made lasting contributions to the greater university and to Temple\u2019s global presence during his time at Temple (1968-2000). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mall\u2019s research interests focused on eighteenth-to twentieth-century French literature and critical theory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was director of Temple Rome from 1986 to 1988, director of Temple\u2019s Education Abroad program at the Sorbonne in Paris in the \u201880s and \u201890s, director of the College of Arts and Sciences (the school which became CLA and CST) Honors Program, chair of the French Department, a devoted teacher, editor of The Faculty Herald <\/em>and of Quid Nunc<\/em>, the newsletter for the College of Arts and Sciences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Dean Emeritus Kim Strommen (1991-2014), whose tenure at Rome followed soon after Mall\u2019s, then-Provost Barbara Brownstein asked Mall to lead Temple Rome during a difficult time financially. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI understand that he pulled things together, rallied the faculty and staff, and boosted morale. I heard over and over that he was loved and respected by all and that he stood up for the Rome Campus,\u201d said Strommen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of his past Rome colleagues, retired manager of Academic and Faculty Support and longtime Temple Rome staffer Teri Morelli, who remained friends with Mall long after he left Temple Rome, affirmed Strommen\u2019s sentiments. Mall was both \u201ca beloved and great director.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJim was exceptional. I just can\u2019t say enough about him. He was tough in a good way. He wasn\u2019t going to just go along with any program that had been there before, but that was what he was hired to do\u2026to set policies and procedures and he did.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Morelli and Mall started working together in 1986, the early days of the popularization of computers, and Mall presented Morelli with an Apple computer. \u201cI don\u2019t think I even saw one before,\u201d said Morelli, but he said, \u2018Let\u2019s get started\u2019 and we did.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mall also made his mark on Temple\u2019s Education Abroad Program in Paris. According to his colleague, French Professor Emeritus Ruth Thomas, initially students participating in Temple\u2019s Education Abroad program at the Sorbonne only had the option to stay in dorms. Mall added the option of family stays. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Thomas went on to explain that in another area of Mall\u2019s work, as department chair, \u201cHe was very fair and knew each person\u2019s strengths and weaknesses and always placed people in their areas of strength.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Thomas added, \u201cI will remember him as a brilliant and original thinker, a good listener, and a very generous reader who was always willing to discuss and to share his ideas. He was someone who refused to settle, whatever it cost.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n James’ impact is still highly visible on campus. As recounted in James Hilty\u2019s book, Temple University: 125 Years of Service to Philadelphia, the Nation, and the World, <\/em>Mall provided impetus for Temple\u2019s Honors Program, which became one of the first university-wide honors programs in the U.S. Mall chaired a faculty senate committee that in 1987 recommended and approved Temple to begin a university-wide honors program. Thus, Temple\u2019s now-thriving Honors Program began. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another important legacy of his work was his teaching. \u201cI sat in on some of his classes,\u201d said Thomas. \u201cThey were so well executed with a compelling theme from beginning to end. He was brilliant,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n His wife, Laurence Mall, herself an associate professor of French at The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign said of his teaching and his dedication to Temple, \u201cHe was passionate about being part of an innovative public university that served many first-generation college students from working and middle-class backgrounds, many of them local to Philadelphia. He was truly devoted to his students and their education.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n In terms of his personal qualities, she cited his fierce intelligence, his wit and his sense of humor. His sense of humor was also highlighted by Morelli, along with his sense of loyalty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He was the beloved husband of 41 years to Laurence Mall and beloved father to son Nicholas Mall and daughter-in-law Megan Mall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By Lisa Z. Meritz, Director of Marketing & Communications, Global Engagement<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" James P. Mall, professor of French emeritus, died June 24, 2023. He made lasting contributions to the greater university and to Temple\u2019s global presence during his time at Temple (1968-2000).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n 3 MIN READ<\/p>\n