Manhattan, KS— The inauguration of Richard H. Linton as the 15th president of Kansas State University will take place at 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2, in McCain Auditorium.
Students, faculty, staff and the public are welcome to attend. No tickets are required. Parking will be available in parking lot A2 near McCain Auditorium. The parking lot will open at 12:30 p.m. and can be entered at Vattier Street and North Manhattan Avenue. No permit will be required.
The ceremony will also be available via livestream at k-state.edu/president/inauguration.
Linton was selected as K-State’s new president by the Kansas Board of Regents on Dec. 2, 2021, stepping into the role in February. He previously served as dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State University.
Charles Taber, university provost and executive vice president, will serve as master of ceremonies. Gov. Laura Kelly will present greetings from the people of Kansas, while Don Saucier, president of the K-State Faculty Senate; Monica Macfarlane, president of the K-State University Support Staff Senate; and Parker Vulgamore, K-State student body president, will deliver greetings on behalf of their constituents.
Carl Ice, vice chair of the Kansas Board of Regents and chair of the K-State presidential search committee, will introduce Linton. Jon Rolph, chair of the Kansas Regents, will deliver the investiture charge, followed by remarks from Linton.
Special guests will include Gov. Kelly, members and the CEO of the Kansas Board of Regents, the president’s Cabinet, K-State college deans, state of Kansas university leaders and delegates of academic institutions from across the country.
The procession will feature Saucier as bearer of the university mace, and Beth Montelone, senior associate vice president for research, as marshal. The Rev. Gale Hammerschmidt, pastor of St. Isidore’s Catholic Student Center, will deliver the invocation. Sabri Ciftci, professor of political science and a member of the Manhattan Islamic Center, will offer the benediction.
Music will be provided by the K-State Symphony Orchestra and K-State Concert Choir. The K-State Army and Air Force ROTC Color Guard will present the colors.
A reception in the McCain Auditorium lobby will immediately follow the ceremony. More information is available on the inauguration website, k-state.edu/president/inauguration.
