Sylvester “Bud” Aichele, a longtime Temple faculty member and administrator, died at home under hospice care on April 1. He was 86.

Aichele, beloved by students and colleagues alike, came to Temple as a political science instructor in 1947 after serving as a naval pilot in WWII and taking graduate courses at the University of Pennsylvania. According to the Temple News at that time, Aichele won a “bitterly contested” faculty leg contest in 1953; the proceeds from the event were donated to the University Scholarship Fund. After winning the contest, Aichele joked that he had been offered a job with the “Snappy Garter Company.”

In addition to his duties in the Political Science Department, Aichele held positions as an advisor to fraternities, co-chairman of freshman camp, assistant dean of men, director of placement, chairman of the university’s Scholarship and Loan Committee and assistant vice president for development. He also served as president of the Faculty Club, Diamond Club and 20-Year Club before his retirement in 1985. 

So apparent was Aichele’s devotion to Temple that the student body twice dedicated Templar — the university yearbook — to him, in 1956 and 1985. The entry in the ’85 yearbook concluded, “We, the staff of the 1985 Templar, thank you, Mr. Aichele, for your commitment to the students of Temple University. This Bud was for us.”