TodayShippensburg University celebrates its new president
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Dr. William Ruud delivers the Inaugural Addresss as Shippensburg University's 15th President Friday. (Pam Roy/Special to The Sentinel)
William N. Ruud was ceremoniously inaugurated as Shippensburg University’s 15th president Friday morning in the Luhrs Performing Arts Center at Shippensburg University.
Ruud and many of the other speakers emphasized the family atmosphere at the campus. G.F. “Jody” Harpster, the interim president before Ruud who bridged the gap after the popular Anthony Ceddia retired, made the first allusion to the “family.”
In addition to family, another theme at the event was the amount of change facing the world and the role of education in managing the changes technology and the information explosion are bringing. Both Ruud and the guest speaker, Gerald S. Jakubowski, the president of the prominent engineering college Rose-Hulman Institute of Techology in Terre Haute, Ind., and one of Ruud’s best friends, focused on the need to educate as manypeople as possible so that critical thinking skills can be brought to bear on the management and understanding of technology and information.
Ruud said Albert Einstein once said, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used to create them.”
Ruud concluded his address by saying “We are partnership, friendship, scholarship, entrepreneurship, championship, relationship, leadership and we are the flagship. We are Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania.”
The chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, Judy Hample, said a university president must lead the effort to provide the best education possible and to develop a vision for the university and to produce students who “understand the core values and ethics of our society” and “most important, have a lifetime love of learning.”
After the investiture and again after Ruud’s speech, the crowd gave him standing ovations.
Music
The event was not limited to speeches. The Shippensburg University Concert Band played Giuseppe Verdi’s “Grand March from “Aida” as the processional and played “The Sinfonians” by Clifton Williams for the recessional.
The Shippensburg University Concert Choir sang two selections, “The Last Words of David,” by Randall Thompson, and “Of Thee I Sing,” By David Brunner. The Thompson piece opens with a quote from the Bible, “He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.”
A procession of more than 140 faculty members, officials and visiting dignitaries entered the Luhrs Center at the beginning of the inauguration, all wearing academic regalia.
Those attending the event enjoyed it and were impressed. The event was open to the entire campus and the public, although classes did continue on their regular schedule during the ceremony, which began at 10 a.m. and lasted about two hours.
Audience enjoyed event
“I liked the emphasis on the institution,” said Rick Ruth, the interim provost and vice president for information technologies and services at Shippensburg University. “I think Bill is the right person at the right time.”
Jan Hoffstot, a retired SU administrator, was chatting with friends afterward about how they had enjoyed the event.
“Everyone did a wonderful job,” she said.
George Wagner, who graduated from Shippensburg University in 1958, said, “I thought it was terrific.”
Homecoming activities
The weekend is also Homecoming Weekend at the university. Events today will include activities for children from 9 a.m. to noon at the Ceddia Union Building and the Student Recreation Complex (including the “Creatures of the Night” program by Zoo America at 9:45 a.m. in the CUB Orndorff Theatre); the homecoming parade at 10:15-10:45 a.m.; tailgating beginning at 11 a.m. (cost is $10 per person, $15 for a couple and $25 for a family).
At 1 p.m., the SU football team hosts Lock Haven.
Ricky Skaggs and Bruce Hornsby will perform at 8 p.m. with Kentucky Thunder at the Luhrs Performing Arts Center. For more information, go to www.luhrscenter.com or call the box office at 477-SHOW.
