James Wright to be inaugurated as 16th president of Dartmouth on Sept. 23

Posted 09/16/98

James Wright will be inaugurated as the 16th president of Dartmouth College on Wednesday, Sept. 23 during the convocation ceremony opening the college's 229th year. The inauguration and convocation, open to the public, will be held on the front lawn of Baker Library beginning at 2 p.m. that day.

Convocation, which opens each academic year, is traditionally a colorful celebration of academic life; a ceremony in which college faculty and chief officials march to and from the event in full academic regalia. With the rare addition of the inauguration of a new president, this year's convocation at Dartmouth will take on an extra dimension of celebration and significance. Representatives of more than 50 other colleges, universities and learned societies from around the nation are expected to attend the event.

The ceremony will include greetings by New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen; John Hope Franklin, the James B. Duke Professor of History Emeritus at Duke University and chairman of the advisory board for President Clinton's Initiative on Race and Reconciliation; and Joshua B. Green, a member of the Dartmouth Class of 2000 and president of the college's Student Assembly. Stephen W. Bosworth, United States Ambassador to the Republic of Korea and chairman of the Dartmouth Board of Trustees, will conduct the formal installation of Wright as president. Dartmouth President Emeritus James O. Freedman will give remarks welcoming Wright to "The Wheelock Succession" of Dartmouth presidents. President Wright will then give his inaugural address. As part of the celebration of the inauguration, there will be a reception on the Green immediately following the event.

Those in the Upper Valley with access to the FrontierVision cable television system can watch a live broadcast of the activities on Channel 6, CATV (Community Access Television). WDCR Radio, 1340 AM, will also broadcast the proceedings live. Those with access to the World Wide Web can also hear the audio portion and can get a view of the activities through the college's Webcam.

The college's trustees elected Wright last April to succeed Freedman as president of Dartmouth, thus making Wright the sixteenth in The Wheelock Succession of Dartmouth presidents following Rev. Eleazar Wheelock, who founded the college in 1769. Wright began his new duties on Aug. 1.