Last modified: Wednesday, October 10, 2007
IU presidential inauguration set for Oct. 18
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 10, 2007
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- In a ceremony that marks a seminal event in the life of a university, Michael A. McRobbie will be inaugurated as the 18th president of Indiana University on Oct. 18 at 3 p.m. in the IU Auditorium on the Bloomington campus. The inauguration and a reception immediately following the ceremony are open to the public.
The ceremony will feature the pageantry of a robed academic procession -- the tradition of which dates back to medieval times -- and a keynote speech in which the new president will share his vision for the university and its future. Curt Simic, president and CEO of the Indiana University Foundation, will serve as master of ceremonies.
Adding to the pomp will be two-time Grammy Award-winner Sylvia McNair, soprano and senior lecturer in the IU Jacobs School of Music, who will perform selections from Joseph Canteloube's Songs of the Auvergne with the IU Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Professor of Music David Effron. The Philharmonic also will perform Ottorino Respighi's The Pines of Rome: The Pines of the Appian Way.
The ceremony will open with Inaugural Fanfare, composed by Professor of Music David Dzubay for this occasion, and played by the Indiana University Herald Trumpeters. The fanfare will signal the entrance of more than 200 IU faculty who have indicated that they will march in the robed procession. Delegates from nearly 100 universities and colleges, learned societies, national organizations and foundations will join in the procession, including those from 10 international universities -- two from McRobbie's native Australia, and one each from Kenya, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, England, Macedonia, Mexico, Thailand and Canada. The procession also will include five former IU presidents. The procession, accompanied by Professor of Music Christopher Young on the organ, is expected to last for approximately 20 minutes.
Later that evening, internationally celebrated pianist and Jacobs School of Music Professor André Watts will be the featured soloist with the IU Philharmonic Orchestra in an inauguration concert. The concert is scheduled for 8 p.m. at the IU Auditorium and is free and open to the public.
The inauguration ceremony and concert are just a few of the special events that will take place during "Celebrate IU" week (Oct. 13-21), a weeklong salute to university's excellence in academics, the arts and athletics.
As part of the celebration, President McRobbie will preside over the dedication of Simon Hall, the new multidisciplinary science and research building at IU Bloomington, on Oct. 16, and the unveiling of the cornerstone for the new home of the Hutton Honors College on Oct. 17.
From Oct. 15-21, the Lilly Library will feature a special exhibit of artifacts from past IU presidential inaugurations. Additionally, a bronze likeness of Herman B Wells will be unveiled on Oct. 19 in the main lobby of the Herman B Wells Library.
More details on the inauguration and accompanying activities will be provided in October. Information about the inauguration will be maintained and updated at https://www.indiana.edu/~pres/inauguration.
For more about all of the "Celebrate IU" events, go to https://www.celebrate.iu.edu.
For details on the historical aspects of academic inaugurations, IU's inaugural history and fun facts, go to the following links.
Inaugural fun facts:
https://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/6504.html
IU inaugural history:
https://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/6503.html
The inaugural ceremony:
https://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/6506.html
