Chancellor Miranda investiture will have service day, ceremony and other events
Three days of events centered around the investiture of UIC Chancellor Marie Lynn Miranda on April 4 will celebrate a new era of growth and advancement for the university and its community. While Miranda has been at work as the 10th chancellor of the University of Illinois Chicago since last summer, the centuries-old tradition of investiture will recognize her in official fashion.
At the Isadore and Sadie Dorin Forum that day will be the first investiture ceremony for a UIC chancellor. The ceremony, featuring University of Illinois System President Tim Killeen, speakers, faculty dressed in academic regalia and a special gift to UIC from the University of Illinois System, will mark the moment Miranda is “vested” with the authority and responsibility to lead.
The academic tradition of investiture dates back centuries, to the Middle Ages. And as with the historical tradition, Miranda’s investiture is also meant to be a celebration. At UIC, several events are planned around the April 4 ceremony to extend that celebration and bring the university community together.
At Student Center East, there will be a dance party on the evening of April 4 for students. The third installment of SparkTalks, short three-minute talks by UIC faculty about their research on topics ranging from science and social work to the arts and architecture, will take place April 3 and April 4 in the Isadore and Sadie Dorin Forum. Previous SparkTalks speakers will return for an encore, joined by new additions.
The investiture events will wrap up with a day of community service from noon to 4 p.m. on April 5 at sites around Chicago. Any member of the UIC community, including alumni and families, can participate. On the day of service, volunteers will garden, clean parks, paint and do other sprucing-up work at Stone Temple Missionary Baptist Church, UCAN, A Safe Haven, Harrison Park, Homan Park and Nourishing Hope Headquarters.
A full schedule of investiture events is online, where you can register to attend the SparkTalks or participate in the day of service. To join one of the day of service events, register by April 1. To attend SparkTalks, register by April 1 (for April 3 SparkTalks) or April 2 (for April 4 SparkTalks).
“The investiture ceremony is an important celebration for the UIC community, the city of Chicago, state leadership and so many more people who benefit from and contribute to the excellence of this world-class university,” Killeen said.
“Chancellor Miranda is a dynamic and visionary leader whose energy and spirit are already producing meaningful results, carrying forward the work of former Chancellor Michael Amiridis,” he said. “Adding someone of Chancellor Miranda’s stature with a track record of innovation and inspiration to our leadership team only makes the University of Illinois System stronger, and I am so grateful that we will have this opportunity to celebrate and reflect, looking toward a horizon of unlimited possibilities.”
At the investiture ceremony, Miranda will be presented with a gift from the University of Illinois System to UIC, the Chain of Office. It symbolizes her new leadership position and is filled with references to UIC’s history and present.
The names of past chancellors are listed on the nameplates that make up the chain, ending in the center with Miranda’s name. The nameplates for this Chain of Office share a custom design with those for other University of Illinois System universities, connecting them all as a system of universities. Below the nameplate with Miranda’s name hangs a medallion, representing the UIC campus. It includes the university’s name and year of its founding.
Several featured speakers will also be part of the April 4 investiture ceremony: Na’ilah Suad Nasir, who leads the Spencer Foundation, which funds education research; Philip J. Hanlon, former president of Dartmouth College, where he is currently a mathematics professor; and Tol Foster, director of the Native American Support Program at UIC.
