Former College presidents James Wright and Jim Yong Kim will be in attendance, and Kim will make a few remarks before welcoming Hanlon into the Wheelock Succession with the traditional presentation of the Wentworth Bowl. The bowl was presented to College founder Eleazar Wheelock by former New Hampshire governor John Wentworth in 1771, during the College's first Commencement ceremony, and has since been passed down to each new president. New Hampshire governor Maggie Hassan, an ex-officio member of the Board of Trustees, will provide the opening greeting to attendees at the inauguration, followed by an address from Dean of the College Charlotte Johnson to start the College's 244th year. Student body president Adrian Ferrari '14 will then address the audience.
University of Michigan President Mary Coleman, who served as president while Hanlon was provost and executive vice president of academic affairs, will follow with a longer address about Hanlon's experience and personal attributes, Keith said.
The Board of Trustees will then present Hanlon with the charter to the College, Kim will present the Wentworth Bowl and Hanlon will make his inaugural address.
This year's inauguration ceremony should be very similar to previous ceremonies, executive director of conferences and events E.J. Kiefer said.
"Inaugurations on campus are pretty traditional so there's a base we're building off of," Kiefer said. "The difference is the lineup of speakers and that they're talking about a new president and direction of the College, and new music and entertainment, but the ceremony itself is very traditional."
The inauguration ceremony will feature performances by the Grammy award-winning group Harlem Quartet, the Dartmouth College Glee Club and the Dartmouth College Gospel Choir. The three College groups will collaborate in joint performances.
The Dartmouth Wind Symphony will play the processional and recessional themes, marking a change from previous inaugurations when professional musicians played the songs, Burkot said.
Inauguration events officially began yesterday with a panel discussion about the value of liberal arts at Dartmouth. The discussion featured faculty panelists and was moderated by Dean of the Faculty Michael Mastanduno.
"The What Lies Ahead' discussion is of great interest to [Hanlon] and is an important opportunity to engage with the community," Keith said.
A community cookout at 12 p.m. on Tuck Mall will precede the inauguration, and attendees will be treated to performances by the Barbary Coast Brass Band and Dartmouth Idol All-Stars.
Planning for the ceremony began in April, when the committee selected a date that aligned with other activities and started organizing events.
"There's a formality around protocol of the ceremony, a bit of tradition, and the nature of the interests of the incoming president and what he might like to see during inauguration also plays a role in the planning," Keith said.
The planning committee consisted of faculty, administrators and members from the provost's and president's offices, Kiefer said.
"Once Hanlon was on campus he provided input for the panel, selecting the panelists and also the direction and theme of talking about the liberal arts."
With forecasted blue skies and summery weather, coordinators are hoping for a high turnout at the ceremony. The planning committee has ordered 4,000 seats for the event and there is plenty of standing room as well.
"It's an open ceremony to the entire Dartmouth campus, Upper Valley and alums who will add to the numbers," Kiefer said.
