"Very tragic": Vigil held after sudden passing of Temple University's ...

Vigil held for JoAnne Epps, Temple University's acting president

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Temple University community is coming together to honor and remember acting president JoAnne Epps, who died Tuesday. 

Epps' death has been heartbreaking for the Temple community as students, staff and alumni lean on each other for support.

Temple's Board of Trustees also met Wednesday to talk about the university's leadership.

A vigil for Epps was held Wednesday at the Bell Tower on campus. Mourners filled into the service to pay their respects to Epps, whose decades of service and legacy will be sure to live on. 

The 72-year-old was a beloved leader at the university. She was a longtime fixture at Temple, spending decades at the law school.

Epps was named acting president of the university in April, following the resignation of former president Jason Wingard.

She was on a stage for a memorial service at the Temple Performing Arts Center on Tuesday when she suffered a medical episode, which has not been disclosed.

The news of her death came as a huge shock to students.

"Actually, TempleFest, she came up to our table and I met her then," said Shawn Kowalczyk, a junior at the university. "But other than that, she seemed really sweet and it seemed like she had a lot in store."

"I checked my Instagram and the first post I had seen was that she had passed away and fallen over," Rosie Byrne, another junior, said. "And I thought it was a very tragic death."

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Wednesday ordered all state flags in Philadelphia to fly at half-staff to honor Epps.

It remains unclear as to what comes next and who will lead the university.

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