{"id":3608,"date":"2015-03-19T20:50:06","date_gmt":"2015-03-19T20:50:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/2016\/03\/23\/elizabeth-davis-installed-as-furmans-12th-president\/"},"modified":"2024-07-23T14:34:45","modified_gmt":"2024-07-23T18:34:45","slug":"elizabeth-davis-installed-as-furmans-12th-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/elizabeth-davis-installed-as-furmans-12th-president\/","title":{"rendered":"Elizabeth Davis installed as Furman’s 12th President"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"President<\/a><\/p>\n

Watch Inauguration<\/a> | Read the President’s Inaugural Address<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

In a ceremony awash with tradition, color and splendor, Elizabeth Davis<\/a>, Ph.D., was installed as Furman University\u2019s 12th President March 19 in McAlister Auditorium.<\/p>\n

Themes of renewal, tradition and community echoed throughout the cavernous 1,850-seat auditorium that was brimming with special guests, trustees, alumni and members of the University community. The event also featured the premiere of \u201cGloriana,\u201d a work by Jay Bocook \u201975 that was commissioned for the special occasion.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresidential inaugurations have not occurred very often in the life of this institution,\u201d said Trustee Chair Robert Hill Jr. \u201983. \u201cOf the previous 11 presidents, only three held the office less than 11 years. So it is with a keen sense of history that we gather to celebrate the formal installation of President Davis.\u201d<\/p>\n

The gray, cloudy skies of an early spring storm did not dampen the spirits or mood of the capacity crowd as rousing works by Johann Sebastian Bach and Henry Purcell welcomed lengthy processions of alumni and regalia-clad faculty.<\/p>\n

In all, 14 participants \u2013 faculty members, students, trustees and local dignitaries \u2013 took to the podium to extend greetings to President Davis, her husband, Charles, and children Chad and Claire. Among them were Traveler\u2019s Rest Mayor Wayne McCall who called Dr. Davis \u201can uncommon leader with a common touch\u201d and Greenville Mayor Knox White, who discussed the 160-year history that binds the \u201cmountain city\u201d and Furman.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth were settled along the Reedy River. Both survived near death experiences in the early days, from the divisiveness and destruction of the American Civil War to periods of poverty,\u201d said White. \u201cBoth moved forward and became stronger than ever\u2026. we will never forget the many contributions made by the University to our city over so many generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richard Cullen \u201971, past chair of the Board of Trustees, presented the President with Furman\u2019s Charter, while Carl Kohrt \u201965, Ph.D., who served as interim president from 2013 to 2014, placed the Presidential Medallion on Dr. Davis. In keeping with university tradition, the senior member of the faculty (William Brantley, Ph.D.) presented President Davis with the University Mace. Hill Jr. \u201983 delivered the Oath of Office.<\/p>\n

During a 30-minute inauguration address titled \u201cA Legacy of Hope\u201d Davis paid homage to past Furman Presidents, thanked Furman Trustees, alumni, faculty, staff, and her family for their support and confidence, and told the audience the event \u201cis not really about me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Medallion\"<\/a>\u201cThis day is about Furman and the many lives it touches, its historic role in American higher education, and its dedication to serving the world at large through what has been our greatest hope for progress: the education of the mind, and the enrichment of the spirit,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Davis said it was a day to renew Furman\u2019s commitment to the qualities that have allowed it to prosper for nearly 200 years\u2014courage, creativity, compassion and community.<\/p>\n

Furman has been an integral part of Greenville and the Upstate for more than 160 years, Davis said, and her vision is for the University to become even more deeply embedded in the community outside its gates.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur place is Greenville County,\u201d she said. \u201cWhereas we were once a part of downtown Greenville, where there was no distinction between where Furman ended and the city began, we should strive for that same co-existence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davis said that realizing such a goal will require the commitment of the entire Furman community. Students, faculty and staff must embrace the power of Furman\u2019s place in the larger community and its capacity to contribute to meaningful change.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an academic community, we have to agree that public engagement has value,\u201d she said. \u201cWe must acknowledge that advancing public knowledge is as valuable as advancing academic knowledge.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I consider the spectrum of minds at work at Furman\u2014faculty and students from the humanities to the sciences to business and the arts\u2014I think we miss the mark if we do not tap the richness of their expertise, insight and dedication. We fall short if we fail to create avenues by which our intellectual capital can be applied to solve our common burdens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davis closed her address by recalling the vision of President John Plyler, who oversaw Furman\u2019s move from downtown Greenville to its current campus. Plyler\u2019s dream was that the campus, which was rising slowly from a barren cotton field off Poinsett Highway, would become one of the most beautiful in the nation. His dream, of course, came true.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Plyler saw beyond the present moment and imagined a University and a campus that would serve a world he could not know, a faculty he would never meet, students as yet unborn,\u201d she said. \u201cSixty years ago, he thought about us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davis said now is the time for Furman to create a new vision and begin shaping a new legacy, one that will be passed down to future generations of faculty, staff, and students.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must turn our attention with the same seriousness of purpose, the same courage and compassion, to the important work of carving out our own ambitious legacy,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat imprint will we leave behind for those who follow us in the next 200 years?\u201d<\/p>\n

Presidential Inauguration Coverage<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nancy Cantor shares how universities can impact their communities<\/a><\/p>\n

Dani Rodrik explains how ideas shape political economies across the globe<\/a><\/p>\n

Faculty discuss Furman’s commitment to being a publicly engaged university<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a ceremony awash with tradition, color and splendor, Elizabeth Davis, Ph.D., was installed as Furman’s 12th President March 19 in McAlister Auditorium. Themes of renewal, tradition and community echoed throughout the 1,850-seat auditorium filled with special guests, trustees, alumni and members of the University community. \u201cPresidential inaugurations have not occurred very often in the life of this institution,\u201d said Trustee Chair Robert Hill Jr. \u201983. “So it is with a keen sense of history that we gather to celebrate the formal installation of President Davis.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":14578,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,34,3,35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-administrative","category-admission","category-alumni","category-parent-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3608"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3608\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33169,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3608\/revisions\/33169"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}