The University of Delaware will hold a special inauguration ceremony for its 28th president, Dennis Assanis, on Wednesday morning, Dec. 7, in the Thompson Theatre of the Roselle Center for the Arts.

In addition to the inauguration ceremony, celebration activities will include an academic symposium and a reception for undergraduate and graduate students.

Both the inauguration ceremony and the symposium, titled “Ideas that Dare to Change the World,” will be live streamed on this University website.

Special security measures will be in place for the ceremony.

Inauguration ceremony

The inauguration ceremony will begin at 10 a.m., Dec. 7, with an academic processional followed by the singing of the national anthem by the award-winning University of Delaware Chorale.

John Cochran, chairman of the University’s Board of Trustees, will call the ceremony to order, and Babatunde Ogunnaike, dean of UD’s College of Engineering, will read a special poem for the occasion.

Remarks will be presented by keynote speaker Mary Sue Coleman, president of the Association of American Universities. Coleman is former president of the University of Iowa and the University of Michigan, where she served from 2002-14. In 2009 she was named one of the nation’s 10 best college presidents by Time magazine.

After her talk, Delaware Gov. Jack Markell will speak.

Following his remarks and a performance featuring internationally renowned violinist Xiang Gao, Trustees Distinguished Professor of Music at UD, the formal installation will begin at about 11 a.m., with Cochran presiding.

Upon his installation, Assanis will present an inaugural address.

Anne Giacoma Barretta, president of the University of Delaware Alumni Association, will introduce the return of the UD Chorale, which will perform the University’s alma mater.

Final remarks by Cochran will conclude the ceremony.

‘Ideas that Dare to Change the World’

The academic symposium “Ideas that Dare to Change the World,” hosted by UD Provost Domenico Grasso, will begin at 1:45 p.m., Dec. 7, also in the Roselle Center’s Thompson Theatre.

The symposium will feature five speakers from the University faculty who will present TED-style talks.

The speakers and their topics are

• Roberta Golinkoff, Unidel H. Rodney Sharp Chair in the School of Education, “Lessons from the Crib: How do Babies Learn Language?”;

• Debra Hess Norris, Unidel Henry Francis du Pont Chair in Fine Arts and chair of the Department of Art Conservation, “Here, There and Everywhere: The Preservation of Our Global Photographic Heritage”;

• Cole Galloway, professor in the Department of Physical Therapy, “GoBabyGo!: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Independence”;

• P. Gabrielle Foreman, Ned Allen Professor of English, “Demands for Justice: Colored Conventions and the Power of Commitment”; and

• Norman Wagner, Unidel Robert L. Pigford Chaired Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, “Solving Engineering’s Grand Challenges with Neutrons.”

Student reception

All undergraduate and graduate students are invited to a reception to celebrate UD with Assanis and his family from 5-6:30 p.m., Monday, Dec. 5, in the West Lounge of the Perkins Student Center.  Food and refreshments will be provided.