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Presidential Inauguration

This past Wednesday, President Grant Cornwell welcomed the 2016 Presidential Inauguration Ambassadors. The ambassadors are students from all grade levels who were recommended by faculty or staff for their leadership and academic performance.

    The reception was held at the Barker House and ambassadors were provided with dessert. Ambassadors then had a chance to talk among each other, President Cornwell, and several of the inauguration planners.

    Cornwell has an extensive history in university level education and spent the previous eight years as president of the College of Wooster, in Wooster, Ohio. Cornwell specializes in the areas of human rights, critical race theory, and globalization. He will be the 15th person to be inaugurated as president of Rollins College.

    President Cornwell then gave a brief speech, stressing the importance of the inauguration and how he wanted it to be centered around the students.

“Rollins college exists because of the students,” he said.

President Cornwell talked about several of the events being planned for his inauguration, such as having several presidents from international colleges hold a discussion panel.

    The discussion was then handed over to Sara Christovich, the Associate Director of the Center for Campus Inclusion and Involvement, who talked about the responsibilities of the ambassadors. Aside from generating enthusiasm around the inauguration, ambassadors also play a critical role in the Festival of Light.

    The Festival of Light is a celebration held on evening of April 9th, and is a dance party on Mills Lawn that all students and faculty are encouraged to attend. Ambassadors “will guide dinner guests from The Alfond Inn to Mills Lawn and will “bring the party”, lead the group; many will be scattered throughout the procession and some will form the end of the procession.”

    A community service event called “Day of Service” is being held saturday April 2. Students and faculty will gather on campus at 8am and participate in service based activities at one of three service projects.

The Presidential Inauguration is a monumental occasion for Rollins and additional panels and events will be held on April 8th and 9th. On the 8th there will be two panel discussions, the first from 12:30 to 1pm and the second from 2 to 2:30pm. Additionally, there will be a scholarship showcase from 4 to 5pm and an art showcase from 7 to 8pm. A reception for the inauguration will also take place on the 9th from 10am to 1pm.

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