College: President, ritual for installation

5945. Order of Installation of a College or University President.

(The General Superintendent, chair of the board of trustees or other appointed official shall formally and officially install a college/university president at the proper time during the convocation of inauguration. The chair shall address the president, saying:)

President ____________, you have been chosen as the leader of ____________ College/University. The Wesleyan Church is placing under your guidance and leadership not only the physical plant which is about us, the loyal faculty which serves here, but also the sons and daughters from our homes who are to be nurtured in the Christian tradition. They are the foundation both for tomorrow’s Church and for your future constituency.

As president of ____________ College/University, yours is both a priceless heritage and a grave responsibility. You are to be the one to whom all institutional personnel are responsible. It will be your task to interpret the college/university program to the faculty, the student body, the board of trustees, the constituency, and the general public. Yours is one of many educational institutions which through an unending stream of trained students constantly condition the thought life of our age. The heritage, the doctrines, and the ideals of The Wesleyan Church will be projected to succeeding generations only as you dedicate yourself to their preservation in the present. And if free institutions are to endure in the society of which we are a part, you must carry a flaming torch of democratic idealism.

You have been called to this important task because we have confidence in your leadership, in your ability, in your Christian integrity, and in your consecration to the sacred task before you. We pledge to you our cooperation, our financial support, and our prayers for the days which are ahead.

By the authority vested in me as chair of the board of trustees of ____________ College/University, I hereby place in your hands the official seal of the institution as the insignia of your authority and declare you formally installed as president of ____________ College/University.