Raise the flag

The inauguration of Santa J. Ono as the University of Michigan’s 15th president will be celebrated through a series of events March 7.

Faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to attend the day’s public events, which include a flag-raising on the Law School Quad, two panel discussions, the installation ceremony in Hill Auditorium, and a community reception.

The events also will be accessible via livestream. Complimentary tickets are required for the installation ceremony.

Ono, who has been well-received by students, faculty, and staff on all three U-M campuses, is an accomplished biomedical researcher and the former president and vice chancellor of the University of British Columbia. His five-year appointment began Oct. 14, 2022, succeeding President Emerita Mary Sue Coleman.

Academic symposia

The University will continue a tradition dating back at least 150 years by hosting academic symposia associated with the inauguration. This year’s symposia will take place in the Walgreen Drama Center’s Stamps Auditorium on North Campus.

The first symposium, titled “The University and its Community: Past, Present, and Future,” will examine the intersection of race, history, and U-M’s role as a public institution.

Frank Wu, president of Queen’s College of the City University of New York, will give a keynote address followed by a panel discussion with U-M faculty.

The second, titled “Working Together to Tackle the Climate Crisis,” will explore one of the most challenging aspects of responding to the climate crisis: How to get all societal sectors to work together on solutions, with justice placed center stage?

Janet Napolitano, former president of the University of California, U.S. secretary of homeland security, and governor of Arizona, will provide a keynote address followed by a second panel discussion featuring U-M faculty.

Tradition

The installation ceremony will begin with a formal academic procession including hundreds of delegates from colleges and universities within Michigan and from across the nation. It will bring together esteemed University leaders and faculty members, as well as the Board of Regents, deans, and executives.

The traditional procession will start at the Rackham Building and take participants up Ingalls Mall to the Diag and the Hatcher Graduate Library before looping back to Hill Auditorium.

Speakers during the ceremony will include Provost Laurie K. McCauley; Victor J. Dzau, president of the National Academy of Medicine; Allen Liu, chair of the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs; Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist; Hanna Holborn Gray, president emerita of the University of Chicago; Earl Lewis, director and founder of Center for Social Solutions and Thomas C. Holt Distinguished University Professor; and Paul W. Brown, chair of the Board of Regents.

The ceremony also will include several classical musical selections and a gift presentation led by student government leaders representing U-M’s three campuses.

Reception on Ingalls Mall

Immediately following the formal installation, the campus community is invited to join the president for a community reception on Ingalls Mall. The outdoor event will give the campus and Ann Arbor community an opportunity to mingle with Ono, University leaders, and guests from academia.

Refreshments will be served, and entertainment will be provided by student groups to celebrate the inauguration of the new president.

To further commemorate the excitement on campus, Burton Tower will be illuminated in maize-and-blue lighting, and the community reception will feature a 360-degree video selfie booth.

This story is reprinted here courtesy of the University Record, U-M’s weekly newspaper for faculty and staff. Lead image by Michigan Photography.