July 05, 2007

Contact:   Bill Giduz

Davidson will celebrate its new President, Thomas W. Ross, with an Inauguration on Saturday morning, October 27, 2007. The event will occur on Family Weekend, allowing relatives of Davidson students a convenient opportunity to meet President Ross and his spouse, Susan. It will also provide an historic focus for the multitude of athletic and arts events that students traditionally stage for visiting families on that annual occasion.

Ross will succeed Robert F. Vagt and become Davidson’s seventeenth president on August 1. In announcing the plan for the inauguration to campus constituencies on

Susan and Tom Ross

Thursday, he noted, “It is important that all of us remember an inauguration should be about Davidson College, not about any particular person.  It is an important opportunity for all of us to recommit ourselves to the mission of the college and to publicly share this special place with the guests who will be invited to attend.”

Ross also announced that Leslie Marsicano, the recently appointed assistant dean for academic administration, will serve as inauguration coordinator. Marsicano has served at the college since 1989, previously working as associate dean of students and director of residence life.

Marsicano stressed the intention that the inauguration encompass as broad a spectrum of the college family and guests as possible. Invitations will be offered to all members of the college family, as well as town representatives and other dignitaries.

Because the inauguration will take the place of the college’s annual Fall Convocation, senior students will have their first opportunity to wear cap and gown, and will march as part of the inaugural procession. The procession will also include Davidson faculty, and representatives from other colleges and universities nationwide.

The program will include greetings to President Ross by representatives of the many constituencies on hand, and President Ross’s reflections about the college and those who support it.

Weather permitting, the event will occur on front campus in the same setting as Davidson’s annual commencement. If inclement weather necessitates, it will be held in Baker Sports Center. Those in attendance will be invited to enjoy an elegant picnic luncheon following the ceremony.

Marsicano said her planning for the event has been aided by documents from previous inaugurations in the college archives. She also spent a valuable afternoon in conversation with the director of Davidson’s last inauguration, Library Director Emeritus Leland Park. “People have been very kind in offering their help already,” Marsicano said, “and Leland has graciously agreed to never be more than a phone call away between now and inauguration day! I expect it will all work out fine, and be a glorious and colorful reaffirmation of why we all love Davidson.”

Davidson is a highly selective independent liberal arts college for 1,700 students. Since its establishment in 1837 by Presbyterians, the college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently ranked among the top liberal arts colleges in the country by U.S. News and World Report magazine.

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Posted By: Bill Giduz