Next month, Wabash College will do something it has done only 14 times in its almost 175-year history - inaugurate a new president. The ceremony, along with the Celebration of Student Research, Scholarship, and Creative Work, and visits from the Board of Trustees, the Board of Directors of the National Association of Wabash Men (NAWM), and the class agents, could be the College’s biggest celebration of itself in its history.
President Patrick White’s inauguration as the 15th President of Wabash College will take place at 4:00 p.m., Saturday, January 27, 2007. The ceremony will be held in the Pioneer Memorial Chapel. Since seating in the Chapel is limited, it will be a ticketed event with reserved seats.
"We plan on reserving 200 to 250 seats for students, probably in the balcony," Jim Amidon said. Amidon is the chairman of the faculty, staff, and student committee in charge of planning all of the events for the inauguration weekend. Placing the students in the balcony will create a neat affect for White. As he gives his inaugural speech, the students to his left, right, and front will remind him of the focus of the College.
Since attendance at the ceremony will be limited, the ceremony will be broadcasted via closed-circuit television on campus. Those without tickets will be able to see the ceremony from classrooms in Hays Hall and possibly other locations that are yet to be determined.
"This will be a chance to show off my favorite thing about Wabash, the students," White said. Colleagues and students from other schools will join White at the inauguration, along with friends and family who are unfamiliar with Wabash. One of White’s former professors from the University of Chicago will even be addressing the audience. However, this will be Professor of English and Dean of the College Emeritus Don Herring, who will not have to travel far for the celebration.
The inauguration is anything but just the formal ceremony. It will be a three day event beginning Thursday. The celebrations will kick off with an event in Salter Hall celebrating the performing arts, titled Collaboration. Students and professors will perform each others work in the form of music, plays, and even a video directed by theatre professor Michael Abbott.
The most interesting part of Thursday evening’s celebration will probably be the production of a play White wrote several years ago, titled Sandwich.
"It’s a riotously funny play, trust me," White said. Professor of Theatre Jim Fisher will direct the short play, which only lasts 15 to 20 minutes, with a cast of Wabash students.
Friday morning all of the guests to the College, including trustees, NAWM directors, class agents, and White’s family and friends, in total about 200 people, will be invited to attend classes. Friday afternoon will bring the Celebration of Student Research and the only time Wabash cancels its afternoon classes.
Friday night will bring the most important event for Wabash students. Every student will be invited to a dinner and program to be held in Knowling Fieldhouse, which will be titled, "Celebrating the Dreams of Wabash Men." The dinner will feature performances by the jazz combo and the Glee Club, along with speeches from students selected by the Senior Council. One speech will be humorous in nature, another will describe past students’ dreams for the school and they were realized, and the last will seek to provoke discussion about Wabash’s future.
All students will be assigned to tables with one or two trustees, NAWM board members, or class agents, who will take notes on the students’ ideas about Wabash’s future.
"Students will be sitting with the people who can make those dreams happen," Amidon said. "This is an opportunity for students to say what they think, to be really candid."
With the 175th year of the College beginning in January, the school will launch its next phase of strategic planning. The interactions with alumni leaders occurring at the dinner will give students the opportunity to be involved in the very first phase of the planning process.
"We’re starting the planning process with students," Amidon said. "This is a time for students to dream about the Wabash of the future. Everyone needs to be there."
White promises to take students’ input seriously in the next round of strategic planning.
"We don’t have a new president to stand in place," he said. "One of our traditions is to be constantly aware of the new possibilities for the students." Amidon believes students will see the effects of the new strategic planning by next fall.
The inauguration will finally happen Saturday, but not until White attends a meeting of the Board of Trustees and a basketball game.
"We could have moved the basketball game, but [White] insisted we keep it," Amidon said. "And it’s right before the President gives the most important speech of his life."
White is excited for the inauguration, especially to pulling off his speech.
"It’s a communal laying on of hands," he said. "It makes a new moment of ownership, not Pat White owning Wabash, but Wabash owning Pat White. An inauguration in and of itself may be mostly celebration, but when we couple it with everything else that’s going on that weekend, it’s sort of the mark of a real, new day, but not radically separate from the old day. The traditions of Wabash are something I need to hold on to."
Following the inauguration, White will join faculty, staff, and invited guests for the Presidential Gala.
Students will receive invitations to the inauguration and student dinner after returning from break. Tickets will be available soon.