Lombardi to be inaugurated

Campus, community invited to two-day celebration
of teaching and learning

By Barbara Pitoniak, News Office staff

Michael Milewski, a librarian in Special Collections and Archives, arranges photographs of the campus's chancellors who served during the last 32 years. The photos are part of an exhibit, "UMass Amherst Chancellors and Their Research: From Tippo to Lombardi, 1970-2003" that opens Feb. 3 on the main floor of the Library and will run through the month. The exhibit was put together in honor of Chancellor John V. Lombardi's inauguration Feb. 7. (Stan Sherer photo)

he campus will celebrate the inauguration of John V. Lombardi as chancellor Thursday and Friday, Feb. 6 and 7.

     Inaugural events include academic symposia presented by faculty and students from each of the University's 10 schools and colleges throughout the day, Thursday; a gala dinner for invited guests that evening; and a traditional academic inaugural ceremony and reception, Friday, Feb. 7.

     The campus community and the public are invited to attend the symposia and the inaugural ceremony, which is followed by a reception and luncheon.

     The theme for the inauguration is "The Academic Imperative," which describes the University's dual mission of teaching and research.

     "Teaching and research lie at the heart of the academic imperative," Lombardi has said. "Without them, universities cease to exist. They must be preserved and protected above all else."

     All events during the two-day campus-wide celebration are designed to emphasize the importance of teaching and research and to showcase the campus's strengths in both areas.

     The inaugural ceremony will take place Friday, Feb. 7, at 10 a.m. in the William D. Mullins Memorial Center. More than 125 delegates from other colleges and universities and national learned societies will attend. Charlena M. Seymour, senior vice chancellor and provost, will officiate at the ceremony. University President William M. Bulger will deliver a welcome, and representatives of the faculty, staff, students and alumni will greet the chancellor. John W. Ryan, president emeritus, Indiana University, and Germán Carrera Damas, former ambassador of Venezuela, Doctor of History, Universidad Central de Venezuela, will offer remarks. Grace Fey, chair of the University's Board of Trustees, and Bulger will conduct the ceremony of investiture. Lombardi will deliver an inaugural address.
A reception for those attending the ceremony will follow in the Mullins Center concourse.

     The inaugural ceremony will be the culmination of events marking the inauguration that begins with a series of academic symposia and other activities scheduled throughout the day, Thursday, Feb. 6, in the lower level of the Campus Center. Some other events also will take place at other locations on campus.

     More than 600 guests are also expected to attend an inaugural dinner at the Mullins Center, Thursday evening, Feb. 6. The dinner is by invitation only.

     Lombardi became chancellor July 1. He served as president of the University of Florida from 1990-99, and before that was provost at Johns Hopkins University. Prior to arriving at UMass, Lombardi was director of the Center for Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences, based at the University of Florida. A Latin American scholar, Lombardi has also written extensively about the history of Venezuela.