The University of Arkansas held its investiture ceremony for Chancellor Charles F. Robinson on Thursday, April 20, 2023, formally conferring the symbols of the office to the university’s seventh chancellor in its history.

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’s YouTube channel.

“Every day, I feel the energy, the power and the connection that I’ve always wanted to build on this campus,” Robinson said. “I’m so grateful to everyone for their continued support. Having worked so much in my career as a professor in American History, I have long known that moments matter.”

University of Arkansas System President Donald R. Bobbitt and the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees hosted the ceremony. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders was also in attendance as a special guest.

Representatives of the Division of Agriculture, Associated Student Government, the Graduate and Professional Student Congress, the Faculty Senate and the Staff Senate all brought official greetings to those taking part in the ceremony.

After Bobbitt placed the medallion of the chancellor’s office over Robinson’s neck during the ceremonial portion of the program, the chancellor made his remarks to those in attendance.

“My job as chancellor is to foster and facilitate an atmosphere that members of our community can experience those magical moments that will prove to be positively transformative and empowering,” Robinson said. 

Robinson proposed achieving this by asking everyone to work together create moments in the classrooms, in the labs, on the playing fields, and even to ensure that no student, particularly students from Arkansas, are denied the opportunity of an education because of the cost of attendance.

“We must remember who we are and why we are,” he said. “We are proudly a land-grant institution in the great state of Arkansas. In everything we do, we must place a passion for our mission at the center of our operation. Our primary purpose is to improve the lives of every Arkansan.

“I am here counting on you to not only help me continue building on these important past successes, but to further transform our beloved institution into the preeminent land grant that lifts while it rises, strengthens while it builds, trains while it educates, and empowers while it inspires.”  

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas’ economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.