Inauguration Facts
| Richard L. McCormick | |
| • | Richard L. McCormick is the 19th president of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. He began his service to Rutgers Dec. 1, 2002. |
| • | An accomplished scholar in American political history and a highly respected administrator, McCormick received his B.A. in American studies from Amherst College in 1969 and a Ph.D. in history from Yale University in 1976. Before coming to Rutgers, he was president of the University of Washington for seven years and also served as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs and executive vice chancellor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. |
| • | McCormick is Rutgers’ new president, but he is not new to Rutgers. He joined the department of history on the New Brunswick campus in 1976 as an assistant professor. He rose to full professor and department chair, and was appointed dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers-New Brunswick in 1989. Born in New Brunswick, his father was a Rutgers professor and his mother a Rutgers administrator. |
| • | A complete biography of McCormick can be found on the Rutgers Web site at <http://www.president.rutgers.edu>. |
| The Ceremony | |
| • | The inauguration begins with an academic procession of more than 840 faculty, students, staff, guests, delegates and others. |
| • | The procession features important university symbols, including the gonfalon, which bears the Rutgers coat of arms, and the university mace, symbol of the president’s authority. |
| • | More than 80 delegates from colleges and universities across the country are attending, along with representatives from learned societies and state and national associations, such as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Organization of American Historians and American Psychological Association. |
| • | The academic procession concludes with “Fanfare for Richard L. McCormick,” an original piece of music composed for the occasion by Gerald Chenoweth, professor of music at Rutgers’ Mason Gross School of the Arts. Additional music includes performances throughout the ceremony by the Rutgers University Brass Ensemble, Rutgers Glee Club, Kirkpatrick Choir and University Choir. |
| • | In addition to President McCormick’s inaugural address, Gov. James E. McGreevey and representatives of students, faculty, staff and alumni are giving remarks. |
| Historical Notes | |
| • | McCormick is the fourth president of Rutgers to be born in New Jersey. The other three are Ira Condict, who was born in Orange and was Rutgers’ third president; Millstone native Theodore Frelinghuysen, who served as the university’s seventh president; and Philip M. Brett, who was born in Newark and was Rutgers’ 13th president. |
| • | The roots of modern university inaugurations go back to medieval academic traditions. Today the university inauguration serves a vital role in introducing a new leader to the community and giving the president a forum to outline his/her vision for the institution. |
| • | Collegiate presidential inaugurations in the United States originated with the nation’s colonial colleges in the 17th century and established the custom of formally acknowledging a change in leadership at a school’s highest level, within a context of continuity and tradition. The first formal inauguration at Rutgers took place in 1840, when Abraham B. Hasbrouck was installed at the university’s sixth president. |
Rutgers Presidents
1786–1790 Jacob Rusten
Hardenbergh
1791–1795 William Linn
1795–1810 Ira Condict
1810–1825 John Henry Livingston
1825–1840 Philip Milledoler
1840–1850 Abraham Bruyn Hasbrouck
1850–1862 Theodore Frelinghuysen
1862–1882 William H. Campbell
1882–1890 Merrill Edward Gates
1891–1906 Austin Scott
1906–1924 William Henry Steele Demarest
1925–1930 John Martin Thomas
1930–1931 Philip M. Brett
1932–1951 Robert C. Clothier
1951–1958 Lewis Webster Jones
1959–1971 Mason W. Gross
1971–1989 Edward J. Bloustein
1990–2002 Francis L. Lawrence
2002– Richard L. McCormick