Monday, November 16, 2009
In addition to a warm spring backdrop, organizers for Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little’s formal inauguration hope to add another component to the event — a commitment by students, faculty and staff for community service.
Bernadette Gray-Little was the executive vice chancellor and provost at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Gray-Little was appointed Chancellor May 29 by the Kansas Board of Regents following a national search for a successor to former Chancellor Robert Hemenway.
Organizers for the inauguration recently announced that it will be held April 11, 2010, and that a day of service recognition would be scheduled for the day before.
Kathleen McCluskey-Fawcett, professor of psychology, senior vice provost for academic affairs and chairwoman of the inauguration committee, said the committee chose the date not only in hopes of seeing better weather in the spring than in the fall, but also because it worked best for Gray-Little and would give the committee time to plan the events.
McCluskey-Fawcett said she was also on the committee for the inauguration of former chancellor Robert Hemenway in February of 1996. His inauguration also came several months after he began work at the University in the fall of 1995.
“It’s going to be a very nice event,” McCluskey-Fawcett said. “We wanted to make sure we had enough time to pull that off.”
She said the committee was working with the United Way of Douglas County and the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce. She said the committee would develop a component on an inauguration Web site early next year where people could pledge community service hours in honor of Gray-Little.
“That way, students, faculty and staff can dedicate their service to her if they want to,” McCluskey-Fawcett said. “Then we will say, ‘This is how many hours of service has been done in honor of the chancellor.’”
Sonya Navarro, Tescott senior and president of the Service Learning Ambassadors, said community service was now something that was being incorporated in more events than before. She said pledging service was beneficial because it created a sense of community.
“You say, ‘Wow, there are great things going on, people are helping out. If they can do it, I can do it,’” Navarro said.
Though the committee does not yet have a budget for the event, McCluskey-Fawcett said the inauguration would use the Kansas Union ballroom for a banquet to recognize volunteer work April 10, and the Lied Center for the formal installation ceremony April 11.
Erika Dvorske, president and CEO of the United Way of Douglas County, said she was part of a service committee that would be in charge of planning the service events scheduled for April 10. She said the United Way and the Center for Community Outreach would help students, faculty and staff access different volunteer opportunities.
“Part of our goal is to get folks engaged at all levels,” Dvorske said. “So just trying to work with folks where they’re at, to take it from point A to point Z.”
Dvorkse said the inauguration weekend’s spring date would help to increase involvement in community service because there was no restriction on indoor space that volunteering in colder weather often required.
“What that does is just allows for there to be no limit on the number of folks who can be involved,” Dvorske said. “Once we’re able to be outside and get outside, the kind of opportunities is really much broader.”
Follow Jesse Rangel at twitter.com/igglephile.
— Edited by Amanda Thompson
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