Hundreds of students, faculty and guests gathered on the Lawn Friday afternoon for the inauguration of the University's eighth president, Teresa A. Sullivan.
"President Sullivan, on behalf of the students of the University of Virginia, I express our great enthusiasm and excitement for your term as president," Student Council President Dan Morrison said. "We are fortunate to have a tireless leader ... who is willing to engage us wherever we are. We know that you will touch the lives of the thousands of students who study here now and the thousands more to come."
Gov. Bob McDonnell took the stage next and commended the Board of Visitors for choosing Sullivan as the next president. He drew attention to Sullivan's three decades of involvement in higher education, holding positions ranging from sociologist, professor, dean, university provost and researcher. McDonnell also praised Sullivan for her early action in helping the University, despite recent cuts in government funding for higher education.
"Her leadership ... is indispensable," McDonnell said.
Mary Sue Coleman, keynote speaker and the University of Michigan's 13th president, addressed her school's loss of a great leader and educator.
"My only hesitation in this choice is that you deprived the University of Michigan of [Sullivan]," Coleman said. "I am pleased, but not surprised, that a large contingent of University of Michigan faculty joined me in traveling [to this inaugural ceremony]."
Coleman's speech focused on the linked history between the two universities. She spoke about the conversations between close friends Thomas Jefferson and the father of the University of Michigan, Augustus Woodward. Jefferson aided Woodward in founding the University of Michigan in 1817, and Woodward returned the favor two years later by supporting Jefferson in founding the University of Virginia, Coleman said.
"This university is a jewel, and this president will shine it ... and increase its value," Coleman said.
Collective pride in the University's history was celebrated further during the second half of the ceremony. University Rector John Wynne spoke about Jefferson's hopes for the school, saying Sullivan was a perfect fit for the type of leader the University was looking for.
When she spoke, Sullivan turned her attention toward issues larger than her personal qualifications, however. "The inauguration of a new University president tends to focus on the individual person assuming the presidency, but this occasion should focus our attention on the institution," Sullivan said in her inaugural address.
After addressing Jefferson's hopes for the University, Sullivan spoke about the new challenges that have emerged from today's knowledge "revolution".
"We have many fine universities in this country," Sullivan said. "Many of them have representatives here with us today ... The revolution we face requires that all these great universities continue to flourish, that they all get adequate political and financial support, that they all do their part to train the next generation."
The close relationship between students and professors is the key to increasing the value and abundance of knowledge, Sullivan said, but she also stressed that the professor-to-professor relationship is also one that is necessary for ultimate growth in knowledge.
This relationship is exemplified by the Academical Village of the University, Sullivan said, adding that the walkways between the second floors of the pavilions are "the secret to a great university ... where the faculty live and study, and where new ideas, even new fields, grow in the spaces between the disciplines."
Although history is of great importance to the University, Sullivan said "we cannot afford to dwell too long on the University's history, because we have such a critical role to play now in the 21st century."
"The Good Ol' Song" could be heard across Grounds as the University Singers were joined by students and faculty in singing the beloved - though unofficial - alma mater. People in the crowd swayed from side to side and wrapped their arms around one another as the ceremony came to a close.
"It felt like we had the world in one setting, which was great and made it feel like such an intimate and special moment," first-year College student Kelly Farmer said.
Sullivan's inauguration was part of a larger week of events including exhibits, an interfaith observance, an academic symposium, an installation ceremony and reception, a day of service and an inaugural walk.
The next day, about 850 University students, faculty, staff and alumni participated in Cavaliers Care: A Day of Service. The day consisted of a variety of volunteer service projects ranging from building picnic tables to be distributed among the Albemarle County Schools, to caring for trails.
"It is exciting that President Sullivan has so wholeheartedly embraced service as a significant component of her inauguration week," Angela Davis, special assistant to the University's vice president and chief student affairs officer stated in a press release.
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