Slippery Rock University will celebrate the inauguration of its sixteenth president, Dr. Cheryl J. Norton.
Norton, SRU’s first female president, will participate in inaugural ceremonies Friday morning at 10:30 a.m. in the Quad.
Over 250 people are scheduled to march in the inaugural procession leading up to the ceremony that starts at North Hall at 10 a.m.
A campus and community picnic on the quad is to follow the ceremony.
At 6 p.m., an inaugural scholarship dinner will be held in the Smith Center Ballroom.
Tickets were $100 each to support the Norton Undergraduate Research Scholarship. Over 200 people are already registered.
Saturday’s events include several sporting events as well as community service projects held at various locations around campus.
An inaugural tree planting ceremony is scheduled for Saturday morning.
Rita Abent, Slippery Rock University’s Director of Public Relations, said that the inaugural tree is symbolic of the campus growing in new directions.
The Athletic Hall of Fame induction and dinner will be Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in the Smith Student Center Ballroom.
According to Abent, inauguration ceremonies aren’t just for a new president.
“Inaugurals are really for campuses to celebrate success,” Abent said.
Other inaugural events have been held over the course of the past week.
Inaugural events included a 5K run/2K walk, a faculty fine arts exhibit, three Inaugural symposiums, a Japanese cultural workshop, a dance event, and a music faculty concert.
The 5K run/2K walk through campus was held on Saturday. The race began at 8:30 a.m. and was sponsored by SRU Wellness Committee and the Butler Health System. All profits from the race were donated to the Norton Undergraduate Research Scholarship.
Abent said the run was very successful. “We kicked off the week with the inaugural run that had over 300 participants and raised over $4,000 for the Norton scholarship,” Abent said.
The Martha Gault Art Gallery held a reception for its faculty and student “While You Were Out” exhibit Monday at 5 p.m. The exhibition showcased both student and faculty work from over the summer.
The first inaugural symposium, held Wednesday at 12 p.m., was “Title IX: Understanding and providing democratic principles of justice and equality”. Roberta Page, Director of Championships for the National Collegiate Athletic Association, was the speaker.
Dr. Patrick Burkhart, a professor in Geography, Geology and the Environment, presented the second Inaugural symposium session. The symposium was held Wednesday at 7 p.m. and was entitled “Protecting the world’s resources: A common responsibility.”
The third inaugural symposium was held by new SRU President Dr. Norton, and was open exclusively to Slippery Rock students. The lecture was entitled “Accepting Personal Responsibility for Change” and was held Thursday at 12 p.m.
The Dance department put on a ‘60X60’ dance concert Thursday evening at 6 and 8 p.m. in the West Gym Dance Studio. The concert featured 60 different pieces that were 60 seconds long.
“Love, Luck and Marriage in Japan” was a cultural workshop held in the ATS Auditorium. The workshop was presented by Kiyoko Matsumoto and Fumiyo Iwadachi of Handa City, Japan. The workshop also offered a display of kimonos and photo opportunities with the kimonos.
“Remembering Two Forgotten Composers: An Evening of the Music of Arthur Farwell and York Bowen” was a concert that was included in inaugural activities Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. Glenn Utsch, assistant professor of music, played piano, and was assisted by Frederick White, associate professor of English, at Swope Music Hall.
