FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas held its first investiture ceremony for a chancellor on Thursday, Oct. 20, formally conferring the symbols of the office to Chancellor Joseph E. Steinmetz. The ceremony was held in the Jim and Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center and was attended by faculty, students, staff and administrators from across the campus, with others watching the event as it was streamed on the university website.

University of Arkansas System President Donald R. Bobbitt and the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees hosted the ceremony, which was presented by the Campus Faculty leadership, Staff Senate and the Associated Student Government.

President Bobbitt presided over the ceremony, which he described as a “momentous occasion for this campus, the University of Arkansas System, and, indeed, the entire state.”

Representatives of the Associated Student Government, the Campus Faculty, the Faculty Senate and the Staff Senate all brought official greetings to those taking part in the ceremony, and Bobbitt introduced the keynote speaker, West Virginia University President Gordon Gee.

Gee, who has led five major universities during his career, was president of Ohio State University while Steinmetz served as vice provost for arts and sciences and executive dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Gee delivered an often light-hearted speech, telling Steinmetz of the “fun” he had ahead of him. But he also addressed the challenges facing higher education, expressing full confidence in Steinmetz’s abilities.

“He has the vision to navigate all today's challenges and the passion for land grant education that will help the University of Arkansas thrive as never before,” Gee said. “He will ensure that this great university will do all it can to raise this state to its full potential.”

In the most ceremonial portion of the investiture, Bobbitt asked the chancellor’s wife, Sandy, to place the medallion of the chancellor’s office over Steinmetz’s neck.

The chancellor then took the opportunity to describe his vision of the university’s future, emphasizing the newly developed Eight Guiding Priorities, as well as his plans for funding them and managing the continuing growth of the campus.

He explained that the priorities were developed through extensive meetings with broad input from across the campus, and grew out of the university’s core strengths and values. He elaborated on the priorities, stressing why each is important.

Advancing Student Success – “Our first year retention rate is 82 percent and our six year graduation rate is 62.5 percent, numbers that are, in my opinion, too low for the quality of students we enroll, and the quality of instruction we provide. We’re better than that.”

Building a Collaborative and Innovative Campus – “By harnessing research strengths, no matter how they are dispersed across campus, we can also be more competitive for research grants, attack problems from different perspectives, and be more innovative in finding solutions. We can become a national leader in this effort.”

Enhancing our Research and Discovery Mission – “New ideas and disruptive technologies begin with basic research, scholarship and creative activity supported and nurtured on college campuses – and make the world a better place to live in. As such, we can and should be doing more to provide our faculty with the resources and support they need to flourish here at the U of A as researchers, scholars and artists.”

Enriching Campus Diversity and Inclusion – “Any educational institution that does not strive to reflect the complexity and diversity of our state, nation and the world is failing its students and failing its faculty.”

Investing in Faculty Excellence – “Great universities start with great faculty — they are the foundation on which everything else is built. Faculty build quality programs that attract great students; faculty conduct innovative research and scholarship that help attract other researchers and graduate students; and faculty contribute significantly to the arts and culture. Quite simply, great universities recruit, hire, and retain great faculty.”

Promoting Innovation in Teaching and Learning – “We will continue to find ways to remain at the cutting edge of teaching and learning by promoting the creation of timely and innovative academic programs and enhanced learning experiences.”

Reaffirming our Land-grant and Flagship Responsibilities – “Our value to the state goes far beyond degrees conferred or even our economic impact of more than $1.2 billion annually. We are a partner, we are a resource and we are a driver of change. We remain fully committed to serving the needs of Arkansas and being responsive to the citizens of this state.”

Strengthening Graduate Education – “Graduate students are indispensable to our teaching and research missions. They are the future of higher education and many other fields.”

Chancellor Steinmetz went on to outline his plan for funding these priorities, without relying on additional state funding. He said he has already called on all U of A administrative units to reduce their spending by 1 percent for each of the next three years; directed all deans to set aside 1 percent of their budget each year for 3 years for a fund to support the academic plan; asked that the Campaign Arkansas capital campaign be directed to support the eight priorities; and is emphasizing an increased effort to secure federal grants, corporate gifts, private partnerships, and foundation support.

The chancellor also addressed the rapid growth of the university in the past 10 years, saying that he and the executive committee agree that the campus can accommodate about 30,000 students, or an additional 10 percent enrollment increase. But he added that before this can happen, issues such as hiring more tenure track faculty, finding additional office and research space, increasing the proportion of graduate students, and increasing student housing and services must be addressed.

He closed by praising the hard work done on campus every day by faculty, staff and students, saying, “I believe the University of Arkansas is just scratching the surface of what it can do and great times are ahead.”