Temple University says acting president JoAnne A. Epps has died after a collapse

JoAnne A. Epps, acting president of Temple University, speaks during a Temple University graduation ceremony, May 11, 2023, at the Liacouras Center on Temple's campus in Philadelphia. Epps has died after collapsing at a memorial service Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 19, the university said. (Alejandro A. Alvarez/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

PHILADELPHIA — Temple University acting president JoAnne A. Epps died Tuesday shortly after becoming ill on stage during a memorial service, officials said, describing her loss as a gut punch and struggling through emotion as they recalled her nearly four decades of service.

Epps was attending a memorial service at the university for Charles L. Blockson, a curator of a collection of African American artifacts, when she suffered what a doctor speaking at a news conference described as a "sudden episode."