By Audrey Ze//
FREDERICK, Md. — The Hood College community will gather at 11 a.m. in the Hodson Outdoor Theater, with Coffman Chapel as a weather backup, to officially install Deborah Ricker as the 12th president of Hood College.
According to Laurie Ward, vice president for marketing and communication, the inauguration procession will include more than 300 participants, beginning with a bagpiper and color guard, followed by undergraduate and graduate student representatives.
“The alumni delegation has at least one representative for every class going back to 1956,” Ward said. “The alumni will wear sashes in their class colors, while undergraduate students will wear their dinks and graduate students will carry banners representing their majors.”
Ward explained that following the alumni will be representatives from other colleges and universities, marching in order of their founding dates, with the oldest institutions first. “The Hood faculty come next, and then finally, the platform party, which includes the Board of Trustees and the speakers,” she said. “It is tradition in inaugural ceremonies to have members of various constituencies deliver greetings.”
Among the speakers will be U.S. Rep. April McClain Delaney, Maryland’s 6th Congressional District; Jessica Fitzwater, Frederick County executive; Michael O’Connor, mayor of Frederick; Julia Jasken, president of McDaniel College; Gerard J. Joyce, president of Mount St. Mary’s University; Col. Christopher M. Chung, garrison commander at Fort Detrick; Marlene Grossnickle Young, president of the Delaplaine Foundation Inc.; Derrick D. Harrigan, chair of the Board of Associates; Jill Tysse, associate professor of mathematics and co-chair of the Faculty Executive Council; Thomas Chatfield, head coach of men’s and women’s golf and associate athletic trainer; Kate Weir, president of the Student Government Association; Samuel Pierre president of the Graduate Student Association; and, on behalf of Ricker’s family, Keely Cunningham.
Ward added, “There will also be a couple of surprises for President Ricker throughout the ceremony, followed by the formal investiture, with the board chair presenting the chain of office to President Ricker, and then the president’s inaugural address.” After the ceremony, a community celebration will be held on the quad.
Ward said the theme of the inauguration, “Bold Hope, Bright Future,” reflects both the president’s character and the college’s mission.
“President Ricker has always leaned into the college’s core values and chose to incorporate hope into her theme: Bold Hope, Bright Future,” she said.
Ricker described the event as “a significant moment for any college or university. It typically brings a spirit of renewal and reaffirmation. It’s also a time to cast a new vision for the future. At Hood, that’s exactly how I hope we’re all feeling.”
Ricker said she is in the early stages of framing a new strategic plan for the college that will chart our course for the next several years. “We’re also identifying funding priorities to support that plan; this will be the mission of our next campaign,” she said.
“Personally, I don’t like the focus on me,” Ricker added. “My goal is to shift that focus to the college, this incredible community, and our bright future together.”
“Hood students are, and always have been, incredibly special people,” she said. “They are talented, motivated, resilient and focused. Our students are also gracious and kind.”
Ricker said: “What I hope to convey to them now and always is: You are our ‘why’! Every member of the Hood College community stands beside you in support of your academic, personal, and professional goals. But this journey is what you make of it. Hood has so many opportunities available to you; always approach them with a yes.”
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