Order of Exercise | Faculty Marshals | Student Marshals
Typically during a president’s first year, an inauguration ceremony is held to symbolize a change of leadership and to provide a chance to mark a significant milestone in the institution’s history.
The investiture, when the symbols of office are officially conferred, will begin at 11 a.m. in the Winthrop Coliseum with a formal procession to include members of the Board of Trustees, faculty, as well as South Carolina and Big South Conference presidents or representatives from those schools.
Legislators, state, city, and York County dignitaries, alumni, and members of the campus and Rock Hill communities are expected to witness Dr. Serna officially receiving the presidential medallion on stage.
The ceremony’s keynote speaker is a former colleague of Dr. Serna’s from the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith. Dr. Paul Beran, who was chancellor of the Arkansas institution, will discuss Dr. Serna’s rise to leadership and his academic philosophy, which Dr. Serna carried out at his first presidency during his time at the University of Maine Farmington.
Dr. Beran is currently interim president at Western Connecticut State University. He has served as executive director and chief executive officer for South Dakota’s six public universities and two special schools. In addition to overseeing the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, Dr. Beran also served as president of Northwestern Oklahoma State University and its three campuses. He has worked as a senior administrator at community colleges in Massachusetts and Missouri. At the beginning of his career, he was a faculty member at the university and community college level in Texas.
Beran holds a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction in higher education from Texas A&M University and has completed post-graduate work at the University of Houston. He also has a Master of Arts degree in English and bachelor’s degrees in English and political science, all from Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas.
Prelude
Processional
Welcome
National Anthem
Introductions
Greetings
Musical Selection
University Greetings
Speaker
Installation of the 12th President of Winthrop University
Remarks
Alma Mater
Recessional
