Cloaked in orange and blue robes, Teresa Sullivan was inaugurated Friday as the first female president in UVA’s nearly 200 year history. The ceremony, held outside Old Cabell Hall, drew an audience of faculty, students, and community members that spilled halfway up the Lawn. Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, along with University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman, spoke at Friday’s ceremony. McDonnell, the father of twin freshmen at UVA, recently surprised the University with $2.5 million in government aid to help restore the school’s ailing Rotunda.
/Inauguration_Sullivan_03_DA.jpg) |
Sullivan, the ceremony’s final speaker, addressed the challenges of leading a public university in an era of decreasing state funding. The $180,000 inauguration, which concluded with an “Inaugural Walk” sponsored by the Cavalier Volkssporting Club, occurred just days after the University announced a 9 percent increase in next year’s tuition. According to UVA spokesperson Carol Wood, the school’s faculty and staff have not received pay raises for the past three years due to the economic downturn and state salary freezes.
The inauguration brought several other notable figures to Grounds, including former UVA President Robert O’Neil, University of California President Mark G. Yudof, and former Wahoo football star Tiki Barber.