Bastiaan Slabbers/NurPhoto via Getty Images(PHILADELPHIA) Temple University acting president JoAnne A. Epps died suddenly after falling ill at a memorial service at the university Tuesday afternoon, the school announced. She was 72.
Epps became unwell while attending the memorial service for Charles L. Blockson, a curator emeritus of the Blockson Afro-American Collection at Temple, who died in June, according to Temple University.
She experienced a “sudden episode," Dr. Daniel del Portal said at a press conference. She was attended to by emergency service personnel and was transported to Temple University Hospital where resuscitation efforts continued, del Portal said. Epps was pronounced dead around 3:15 p.m., the school said.
"There are no words that can describe the gravity and sadness of this loss. President Epps was a devoted servant and friend who represented the best parts of Temple," Mitchell L. Morgan, chair on the school s board of trustees, Ken Kaiser,
Temple University says acting president JoAnne A. Epps has died after collapsing at a memorial service at the university. The university says Epps was transported to Temple University Hospital, where