On Friday, Oct. 11, Adam S. Weinberg was inaugurated as the 20th president of Denison University. The ceremony took place outdoors on the college’s Reese¬~Shackelford Common, in front of a crowd of well-wishers some 1,300 strong.
Denison’s Chair of the Board of Trustees Thomas A. Hoaglin welcomed the guests. “Today, we formally induct Adam Weinberg into our family, and we bestow upon him the symbols of the presidency.”
Representatives of Denison constituencies offered remarks and greeting for President Weinberg, including Provost, Kimberly Coplin; Student President Ana Morales; Catherine Dollard, associate professor of history and chair of the faculty; Zaven Karian, professor emeritus of computer science and mathematics; Casey Chroust, member of the class of 1997 and president of Denison’s Society of the Alumni Council; and Sandra Cook, an associate in the Office of the Registrar and president of the Denison Operating Working Staff.
Hoaglin thanked the most recent past presidents of Denison, including Andrew De Rocco, Michele Myers and Dale T. Knobel, who were in attendance at the ceremony, for their accomplishments and service on behalf of the college.
The induction address was delivered by David Bayley, a life trustee, distinguished professor emeritus at the State University of New York at Albany, member of the Denison class of 1955, and a specialist in international criminal justice. Bayley’s topic was “Denison’s Ambition.” Hoaglin presented Weinberg with the presidential medal, saying “Adam Weinberg, it is my great privilege to welcome you formally as you assume the presidency of Denison University.”
“We produce leaders, community builders, and innovative thinkers,” Weinberg said during his inaugural address, titled “The Importance of a Well-Directed Course of Education.” “Our students remind us of the power of the liberal arts through the lives they lead. They demonstrate how the liberal arts not only free us to become the person we want to be, they allow us to become a much better person than we might have been.”
At the conclusion of the address, Weinberg asked that audience stand with him and sing Denison’s alma mater, “To Denison,” written by an alumnus in 1903.