Nearly seven months after she took the office as leader of the University, President Mary Sue Coleman will be inaugurated March 27th, the University announced this week.
- Paul Wong
- Coleman
Coleman, the former president of the University of Iowa, has served as president since Aug. 1. She replaced Lee Bollinger, who left the University in January of 2002 to become president of Columbia University.
University of Michigan officials noted that while the delay has been lengthy, it is customary for a new president to have a period of acclamation before her official initiation.
“This is not unusual. Typically the president has a lot to learn and the inauguration is her way of looking at her vision for the University,” Chacona Johnson said, inauguration chairwoman.
The inauguration will take place at Crisler Arena at 10 a.m. and will seek to bring the entire campus community together to hear Coleman’s ideas for the future of the University, said Nancy Connell, director of the University’s news and information department.
“Inauguration often offers an opportunity for a university to articulate its values and its goals and it represents a time for the institution to pause and reflect on its mission, its history and its contributions,” Connell said.
Students noted that Coleman could use her inauguration as an opportunity to raise student interest in the University by promising to include them in decision-making processes.
“The inauguration will be more important if (Coleman) makes it clear that the students opinions matter,” LSA sophomore Nathaniel Damren said. “If the students are involved in the governing apparatus of the University, they’ll be more interested.”
Coleman’s inauguration will be a daylong event, as an academic symposium at the Power Center and a tour of the President’s house on South University Street will follow the actual ceremony. All events will be free to provide access for all interested in attending.