Sydney Martinez, Campus Carrier news editor
Sandeep Mazumder was inducted as Berry’s ninth president on Friday. His inauguration took place in the Cage Center following many activities for students held throughout the week.
Chief of Staff Casee Gilbert said the inauguration committee chose a date for the ceremony over a year ago to give time to plan the week-long celebration. She said the committee began by reflecting on the events during Briggs’ inauguration.
“We used the outline of what they did for Dr. Briggs as our starting point,” Gilbert said. “We picked the date more than a year ago and then formed a committee for planning purposes and started with ‘What did we do last time?’”
The committee continued the traditions of a chapel service and inviting delegates from partner institutions. They added a few new events and rearranged others to fit during inauguration week, such as KCAB’s Formal, Symposium and the Day of Giving.
The Day of Giving is a new annual fundraising event. This year, during the entire day of April 8, the Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations partnered with campus groups to raise funds for scholarships, academics and student experiences.
“Our alumni and advancement teams have talked about implementing a day of giving at some point, which a lot of schools host, and Berry just hasn’t done it yet,” Cecily Crow (94C), director of alumni relations, said. “So, they’re like, ‘Let’s have an inaugural day of giving as part of inauguration week’.”
At the inauguration, six people welcomed Mazumder into his position as the president of Berry. Of those speakers, President of the Student Government Association and senior Anna Yard spoke on behalf of the student body.
Yard said that the student body is looking forward to how Mazumder will change Berry while keeping the college’s traditions alive.
“We are especially encouraged by your ability to look forward with vision while continuing to honor the traditions, values and sense of community that make this place so special,” Yard said.
Former President Steve Briggs welcomed Mazumder by giving a brief history of the college and its presidents. Briggs left Mazumder a few words of encouragement.
“President Mazumder, you have learned that the weight of this role is unrelenting, with a sense of obligation always before you,” Briggs said. “We, former presidents, offer you these words of inspiration from Martha Berry: ‘The pursuit of easy things makes us weak. Pursuit of the difficult makes us strong.’ In the pursuit of your work, may God grant you, and this community, patience, humility and generosity of spirit.”
Laurence Ball, professor of economics at Johns Hopkins University, was the primary adviser for Mazumder’s PhD dissertation. Ball challenged Mazumder to continue to advance a culture of scholarship among students and staff.
“My challenge to you, which I know you will meet successfully, is to maintain and strengthen a culture of scholarship and intellectual seriousness in all the work of Berry College students and faculty,” Ball said.
Former President Briggs gives Mazumder advice.
After Chair of the Board of Trustees John Coleman (04C) and Vice Chair Roger Lusby (79C) presented Mazumder with the investiture of office and the college presidential medallion, Mazumder gave his inaugural address, giving thanks to the community and outlining the five goals of his strategic plan.
“Preparing for today, I was asked a fair question,” Mazumder said. “‘If your presidential work has already begun, why do we have an inauguration?’ That’s a valid question to ask. I’ll start here because the answer is simple yet significant. Celebrating a moment like this is not about an individual, but it’s about encouraging our community.”
Mazumder said that the inauguration is important to form a collective memory for the college, reaffirm its values and outline its future.
Mazumder ended by saying he is looking forward to joining students and faculty in pursuing Berry’s calling.
“As we stand here in this moment in Berry’s story, we’re reminded that we do not inherit something completed,” Mazumder said. “We inherit a calling, a challenge to which we will rise each day. We seek solutions, wrestle with ideas, shape our characters, practice our craft, seek clarity in truth, lead with integrity, serve with humility and dream boldly about what Berry can become in the next generation.”