President Jill M. Baren was inaugurated as the fourteenth president of Lake Forest College during a historic ceremony on Thursday, October 27.
Hundreds of special guests—including alumni, community members, and friends of the College—joined students, faculty, and staff in the Sports and Recreation Center on South Campus for the hourlong ceremony.
Following a bagpiper and drummer, Faculty Marshal DeJuran Richardson, Ernest H. Volwiler Professor of Mathematics, and Assistant Faculty Marshal Cynthia Hahn, Professor of French, led the procession. The procession included members of the Board of Trustees; international students, each carrying the flag of their nation; a US military representative; student, staff, Alumni Council and Parents Council delegates; and nine delegates from various colleges and universities, including President Baren’s father, Robert Baren, Professor Emeritus at Temple University.
Richardson and Hahn welcomed the hundreds of audience members seated in the Tri-Court Gym and others from locations around the world who viewed the livestream. Representatives of the College’s faculty, staff, students, and alumni, and Lake Forest Mayor George Pandaleon took turns at two podiums on stage to deliver greetings to President Baren and her special guests.
The official induction was performed by David Gorter ’80, Chairman of the College’s Board of Trustees; William Lowry ’84, Vice-Chairman of the Board; and Claudie Wyatt-Johnson ’69, P ’03, Secretary of the Board. They presented President Baren with the Lake Forest College charter—a reproduction of the Act of Incorporation granted on February 13, 1857—and the College Seal, which dates back to the early years of the College.
Following the induction, President Baren delivered her inaugural address, first thanking the Board for their confidence in her leadership and for bestowing “the great honor of serving as President of Lake Forest College,” she said.
“At Lake Forest College, we have an institution that graduates students poised for success, defined as persistence toward achieving one’s goals over the span of one’s life, not just in the first decade after college but also in the second, third, fourth, and fifth deades of post-graduate life,” she noted.
President Baren outlined how the College’s future will be decided through a community- and consensus-driven approach, presenting three themes that will “align the College’s priorities and guide the planning and execution of our strategic framework for the future.”
The first theme is “building an inclusive, thriving community”; the second, “stewarding and promoting the unique Lake Forest College brand”; and the third is “investing in and securing the College’s future as a residential liberal arts campus,” she said.
“Whatever paths we choose to secure our future, rest assured that we have put a stake in the ground to retain our prominence as a leader among liberal arts colleges across the country,” President Baren concluded to a standing ovation.
The College’s Faculty Jazz Trio, Department of Music students, the Combined Choirs, Combined Music Ensembles, and Concert Band performed several musical pieces throughout the ceremony, including the Lake Forest College Alma Mater.
A reception in the Varsity Gym immediately followed the ceremony.
In February 2022, President Baren was unanimously selected by the Lake Forest College Board of Trustees to assume the presidency on July 1, 2022. Baren is the first woman president in Lake Forest College history.
Original source can be found here.
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