Although the formal inauguration of Bill Chace as Emory's 18th president will take place on Wednesday, April 5, inaugural activities will begin on Saturday, April 1, at 11 a.m. with the dedication of a Habitat for Humanity house built to celebrate the service component of Emory's mission.
Inauguration activites will continue on Monday, April 3, at 5 p.m. at Oxford College with a heritage ceremony that celebrates the history and tradition of the University. "We want to celebrate that the seemingly disparate activities of the University share a common mission and a single source found in Oxford," said David Rowe, director of development at Oxford and a member the 12-member Oxford inaugural planning committee. "We want to create a reflective moment before the inauguration as we prepare for a new era in our University."
The ceremony will revolve around four "callings" of the University and move around the Oxford campus to sites that represent those areas: the call to heal will take place at Phi Gamma Hall, which was used as a hospital during the Civil War; the call to serve God and each other faithfully will be held at the Day Chapel; the call to seek truth and knowledge will be held at Hopkins Hall; and the call to teach will be held at Seney Hall. Faculty, staff and students from across the University are invited to attend.
The main inauguration ceremony will be held at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 5, on the quadrangle. Fa-culty, staff and students are invited to attend. All classes scheduled to meet at noon or thereafter have been canceled that day, and departments are encouraged to permit staff to attend.
Presidential inaugurations have been rather infrequent at Emory. Former President James T. Laney was elected 18 years ago, and then rain forced inaugural ceremonies indoors.
In addition to the on-campus community, guests will include Emory neighbors and representatives of University alumni and the United Methodist Church. Some 150 delegates from other educational institutions are expected to attend, according to Secretary of the University Gary Hauk, who is chairing a committee of faculty, staff and students to plan the event.
Beginning with an academic procession led by Chief Marshal John Manning and Pipe Major James Thompson with the Atlanta Pipe Band, the inauguration ceremony will incorporate several symbols of the University. Included are the original charter of Emory College, the Presidential Medallion, the gavel used 100 years ago by then-President Warren Candler (1888-1898), a set of keys and a sprig of "the Wesley Holly," which together represent facets of Emory's legacy.
In 1836, with the consent of the Georgia Methodist Conference, Emory College was chartered by the Georgia legislature. A college town had been laid out in the woods near Covington and was named Oxford for the university of the founder of Methodism, John Wesley.
The hand-written 1836 Charter, housed in Special Collections in Woodruff Library, was last carried in procession at the Sesquicentennial Convocation in 1986.
The president wears a badge of office given to the University in 1965 by the Emory chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, Gamma of Georgia. Designed by Eric Clements of Birmingham, England, and executed by the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths in London, the solid gold medallion is an open teardrop enclosing the raised seal of the University, and is suspended on a gold cord.
Instead of the key to the city, the president will receive keys to the campus--providing symbolic access to the traditions and heritage of Emory. Buildings represented by the keys are Phi Gamma, Emory's oldest campus building and first hub of student life, erected in 1850 on the Oxford campus; Pitts Theology Library, the oldest academic building on the Atlanta campus; and Lullwater House, the president's residence.
The key to Glenn Church and the Wesley Holly both symbolize Emory's tie to the Methodist Church. As told by Bishop Warren Candler's wife, Antoinette, an East Platka holly bush was brought to the Emory campus from Frederica, Ga., near Savannah, around 1920, during Bishop Candler's tenure as chancellor of the University.
The small holly was found growing out of a fork in a huge live oak under which John Wesley had often preached during his missionary stint in Georgia. Mrs. Candler carefully removed the holly and brought it to the Emory campus.
Planted on the quadrangle near the flagpole, the tree thrived until 1983, when a series of freezes led to bark-split and an infestation of bores.
When the tree was removed, 25 cuttings were taken, four of which were planted near the School of Theology, and one at Oxford College in front of Allen Memorial United Methodist Church. The holly is another sign of the Methodist roots of Emory University.
Because of the love for music shared by the president and his wife, JoAn Johnstone Chace, two musical compositions have been commissioned for the inauguration.
Music at the ceremony will include a new fanfare for the president written by Steve Everett, associate professor and director of instrumental music. Titled "Zodiacal Memory," the piece will be performed by Atlanta Brassworks.
On the evening preceding inauguration day, a gala concert will be held at Glenn Memorial at 8 p.m. Featured will be a choral piece written by University music professor John Anthony Lennon that uses the Emory motto as text: "Cor prudentis possidebit scientiam," which translates, "The heart of the prudent will possess knowledge." The University Chorus will perform the work at both the concert and during the inauguration ceremony.
Tickets for the Gala Inauguration Concert are free and available through the Box Office at the Dobbs Center ticket desk, 727-6187.
A University-wide celebration and block party in front of Dobbs Center, which will include a concert on McDonough Field, will follow the inauguration ceremony.