Questions Remain for ABA Centers Scholarships After Temple Ends Barnett Pledge

PHILADELPHIA – Temple University and Christopher Barnett ended his $55 million pledge by mutual agreement in early September. The university’s announcement did not address scholarships offered by his company, ABA Centers of America. Temple said no payments were due yet under the pledge, announced in October 2025. The company reported 73 scholarship participants in January. That is not a current enrollment count, and public materials reviewed through September 14 do not show whether ending the pledge changes employee tuition support or existing scholarship awards.

ABA Centers is under federal investigation for alleged health care fraud and other offenses. Temple said Barnett denies the allegations; The Philadelphia Inquirer reported September 8 that he had not been charged. The company’s latest news item was dated April 2 when checked on September 14. It did not immediately respond to the Inquirer’s request for comment on September 8.

Three recruitment pages still advertised Temple ties when checked on September 14. A bilingual behavior technician listing in Melbourne, Florida, included a “Full-tuition scholarship opportunity at Temple University to pursue a Master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)” among its benefits. A listing titled “Temple University Applications – ABA Centers Pool” said the company was “building a talent pipeline of Temple University graduates.” A clinical director listing in Alexandria, Virginia, cited its “sponsorship of the Autism Research Laboratory at Temple University.” These listings do not guarantee a scholarship for every applicant.

How the Pipeline Was Built

The scholarship program predates the canceled pledge. In October 2022, ABA Centers announced a $1 million gift to establish the ABA Centers Autism Lab at Temple’s College of Public Health. Temple later described the lab as a research and training hub offering diagnostic services regardless of patients’ ability to pay. The company awarded nearly 20 employees full scholarships for an online ABA master’s track in fall 2023. In January 2026, it honored its first eight graduates, reported 73 participants, and set a goal of 30 new recipients each semester.

“By removing financial and geographic barriers to advanced education, we’re investing in the professional growth of our team members, as well as strengthening the future of autism care nationwide,” Quatiba Davis, the company’s chief clinical officer, said in the January announcement.

Temple’s degree is the Master of Science in Education in Applied Behavior Analysis, offered by the College of Education and Human Development. Its program page says “an online synchronous cohort is available” but does not describe the ABA Centers scholarship arrangement. The company says it created the virtual track for its employees, but it is open to all students. Barnett told the Inquirer in October 2025 that the company pays for 40 to 90 employees to earn Temple master’s degrees each year. That annual range differs from January’s enrollment snapshot; neither figure shows how many employees are enrolled this fall or whether their tuition support has changed.

What Temple Has Said So Far

President John Fry told the Inquirer that Barnett’s name would come off the public health college, the College of Liberal Arts dean’s title and the Essential Needs Hub. The hub launched its first phase in October 2025 and was fully operational by August 2026. Temple spokesperson Steve Orbanek told Inside Higher Ed that its operations would be unaffected and retain full university support. Fry said he would seek another donor for the hub and that an autism initiative at the public health college, earmarked for roughly $20 million of the pledge, would need to be “rethought.”

Fry also said Temple would review Barnett’s earlier, smaller gifts but did not elaborate. Earlier support included the $1 million lab gift; a $300,000 gift from Barnett and business partner Nathaniel Irvine that led to the pantry’s 2023 renaming as the Barnett and Irvine Cherry Pantry; Maddy’s Room, a sensory space named for Barnett’s daughter and developed with the School of Social Work; and the Chris and Julie Barnett Scholarship for public health students studying at Temple Rome. Temple’s September 8 statement did not identify which earlier gifts it would review or whether employee scholarships would continue.

Temple’s gift policy allows the Board of Trustees to revoke the naming of a building, college, school, or major program when the Board or its designee determines that the donor association could significantly harm the university’s reputation or conflict with its values. The provision does not explicitly mention labs, and Temple’s statement does not explain how it applies to this lab.

Temple has revised its website. Its August 18 hub story carries a September 8 update note; the article body omits Barnett’s name and calls the pantry “Temple’s Cherry Pantry.” The October 2025 hub story also omits Barnett from its current headline, and its old web address now redirects to one without his name. Those changes do not explain the scope of the earlier-gift review.

What Temple Has Not Answered

The public materials reviewed through September 14 leave several questions unanswered: the lab’s future name and funding; the terms of any agreement covering the online cohort and tuition payments; and whether existing scholarship recipients or new applicants will be affected. The scope of the gift review also remains unclear, including whether it reaches the pantry or Irvine’s separate support for Temple. The Irvine Family Impact Center, supported by a $1.5 million endowed gift from Irvine and his family, opened in April. A December 2025 search-warrant affidavit includes Irvine’s company email among the accounts investigators sought to search. That is not a criminal charge or a finding of wrongdoing.

For employees and prospective applicants, the practical question is whether existing tuition awards and new cohorts will continue. The company’s January enrollment target does not establish how many recipients joined this fall.

AT A GLANCE

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