Inauguration Week: Vincent Price to Be Formally Installed Thursday
Inauguration expected to draw 3,000 attendees for events
Vincent E. Price will be formally installed as Duke University’s 10th president Thursday, Oct. 5.
The inauguration will begin at 5 p.m. on Abele Quad on Duke’s West Campus and is expected to last about 90 minutes. Duke will live stream the event starting at 4:15 p.m. with a special performance of the Duke Chapel carillon.
An academic symposium exploring the role of universities in matters of public interest will precede the ceremony. The symposium will run from 1-3:30 p.m. in the Bryan Center’s Griffith Film Theater. Tickets to the symposium are sold out; it will also be streamed live on Duke Today and elsewhere.
A celebration at the Richard H. Brodhead Center on West Campus will follow the inauguration.
“This is an exciting moment in Duke’s history,” said Terry Chambliss, senior director of special events and university ceremonies and co-chair of the inauguration steering committee. “The inauguration will bring faculty, students, staff and other members of the university community together to celebrate this wonderful occasion and to look toward the future.”
The inauguration, to be held in front of Duke Chapel, is expected to draw about 3,000 people, including more than 70 delegates representing educational institutions and learned societies. In the event of rain, the ceremony will be moved inside Duke Chapel.
The event will also highlight the arts. The community gala following the inauguration will feature music and other performances from students and faculty members.
Throughout the day, campus tours for inauguration guests will showcase much of the new construction and initiatives. A library exhibit, organized by University Archivist Valerie Gillespie, will trace Duke’s history and look in depth at some of the school’s milestone moments.
On Wednesday, Oct. 4, a festival organized by students and dubbed PricePalooza, which will include food, music and carnival rides, will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. on East Campus. It is open to members of the campus community only.
Price, the former provost at the University of Pennsylvania, began work at Duke July 1, succeeding former President Richard Brodhead.
Read more about planning the inauguration.