Heartbreaking details emerge as Temple University acting President JoAnne Epps suddenly collapses &

JOANNE Epps, the acting president of Temple University, has died after suddenly becoming unresponsive on stage at a school event on Tuesday.

Epps, 72, had held the role since the resignation of university president Jason Wingard in March.

"I am devastated by this loss," Mitchell Morgan, the chair of the university's board of trustees, told The Philadelphia Inquirer.

"She was our light at the end of the tunnel. Temple University will survive it. I’m not sure I will emotionally survive it."

Epps, who was the first Black woman to lead the school, was scheduled to speak at an event in memory of historian and activist Charles Blockson, who died in June, on Tuesday.

After arriving on stage, she slumped over in her chair and was eventually carried out by a uniformed security guard.

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Epps was then transported to Temple University Hospital and died at 3.15pm, the school said in a statement.

Her cause of death was not immediately known.

The seasoned educator had worked at the school for nearly four decades.

She had previously helmed the university's law school and acted as provost.

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Epps had planned to retire before she was asked to step in as acting president.

Morgan plans to hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday to determine the university's next steps.

The school is currently in the midst of searching for a permanent president, but that process could take several months.

The event Epps was scheduled to speak at went on as planned.

Kimmika Williams-Witherspoon, the university's former faculty senate president, stepped in to read Epps' prepared remarks.

'REST IN POWER'

Temple released an official statement sharing the news of Epps' passing with "deep heartbreak."

"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," the statement read in part.

"She spent nearly 40 years of her life serving this university, and it goes without saying her loss will reverberate through the community for years to come.

"Our thoughts are with President Epps’ family, and with all members of the Temple community in this moment. The days ahead will be difficult, but we will lean on one another as President Epps would want us to."

News of death quickly spread on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

"Rest In Power," said Hugh Dillon, a well-known news photographer in the Philadelphia area.

"She was very inspiring, kind, a people person, firm in her convictions, admirable, humble."

The Philadelphia Phillies tweeted: "The Phillies extend our heartfelt condolences on JoAnne's untimely passing."

"Joanne Epps was a skilled law professor and great person. She inspired her students and conducted herself with grace and dignity as Dean and as Provost. May her memory be a blessing," someone else tweeted.

"This is desperately sad. JoAnne was an exceptional leader and such a wonderful person, so committed to students and to Temple. My deepest sympathies to her family, colleagues and friends," another wrote.

"My deepest condolences to the Temple University community. This is truly a sad day," someone else said.

Epps was born in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, a north Philadelphia suburb, in 1951.

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She attended Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, before receiving her Juris Doctor from Yale Law School.

Epps leaves behind her husband, Jay.

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