CHAPEL HILL – You can join Carol Folt on University Day this Saturday for her installation as the 11th Chancellor of UNC. She is the first woman to lead Carolina.
Festivities kick-off at 1:30 p.m. with performances by the Carolina Choir and the UNC Wind Ensemble. The Installation Ceremony is set to begin at 2 p.m. in Polk Place, on the steps of South Building. A public reception will follow in front of Wilson Library. If it rains, the event will move to the Dean E. Smith Center.
Folt will give an address about the University’s future, and five alumni will be honored with special awards.
University Day, which is free and open to the public, marks the laying of the cornerstone of Old East, the nation’s first state university building, in 1793. The day has become the traditional inauguration day for new chancellors since 1957.
UNC President Tom Ross will preside at the ceremony, and Sarah Parker, chief justice of the N.C. Supreme Court, will administer the oath of office. Speakers include representatives from the UNC Board of Governors, the University’s Board of Trustees, faculty, students, staff and the UNC General Alumni Association.
The celebration will turn over to the students on Sunday for Folt Fest. It starts in the Pit at 4 p.m. and will be a carnival-like party with food and entertainment.
The Board of Governors unanimously elected Folt as chancellor in April, and she started work on July 1. An internationally recognized environmental scientist and award-winning teacher, Folt served as interim president of Dartmouth College from 2012-2013 and was also a Professor of Biological Sciences.
For information on parking for University Day, click here.
For a complete schedule, click here.
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