OHIO celebrates the Investiture of President Lori Stewart Gonzalez
For only the 23rd time in its 219-year history, Ohio University celebrated the investiture of a new University leader – an event that is rich with tradition, symbolism and a special forward-looking energy.
Photos by Eli Burris, Rich-Joseph Facun and Ben Siegel | October 19, 2023
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For only the 23rd time in its 219-year history, Ohio University celebrated the investiture of a new University leader – an event that is rich in tradition, symbolism and a special forward-looking energy.
As the University community, friends and special guests gathered to celebrate Dr. Lori Stewart Gonzalez, a leader who has devoted her career to public higher education, Ohio University Board of Trustees Chair Peggy Viehweger helped set the stage for the historic moment.
“We knew when we began the search for our 23rd President that we wanted, and really needed, a very special leader,” Viehweger said. “We wanted it all – and here’s the best part – we got it!”
The afternoon was rich in tradition and celebration as President Gonzalez was presented with the presidential Seal of Office and the charter of Ohio University.
Following her official Investiture, President Gonzalez expressed deep appreciation for everyone in attendance and her excitement to celebrate OHIO’s past, present and future.
This moment, this celebration, is about much more than acknowledging a new president and the passing of the ceremonial torch. It is about celebrating our amazing institution, its people and its traditions.
President Gonzalez noted that there is much to celebrate.
OHIO’s incoming first-year cohort of students was the largest and the highest achieving in the history of the University; OHIO also saw a significant increase in the number of students choosing to attend its regional campuses and online programs.
“Students and their families are choosing OHIO because they seek an experience that sets them up for success. Our high-impact, immersive academic experience, offered in one of the best college towns in America, is a winning formula,” President Gonzalez said. “They’re choosing value, and they’re choosing place.”
As OHIO works to build the next generation of leaders, President Gonzalez stressed the importance of continuing to find ways to further increase higher education access and affordability.
The President’s Opportunity Promise Award, announced by President Gonzalez during her Investiture address, is a new renewable scholarship program that will begin in Fall 2024 for Pell-eligible first-year students with a minimum 3.0 high school GPA.
“The President’s Opportunity Promise Award reinforces Ohio University's longstanding commitment to providing a high-quality education that is both accessible and affordable,” said President Gonzalez. “This Award has the potential to impact countless students in the region, remove financial obstacles and help pave the way for a brighter future through education.”
President Gonzalez shared how equally excited she is for OHIO's bright future, emphasizing the immense opportunity that lies ahead to collectively sustain and strengthen the University’s mission in ways that will build upon its institutional characteristics.
She also stressed that such strategic investments must be part of a larger process that includes forward-looking planning and collaborative engagement opportunities across the University community in the years ahead.
To begin this work, President Gonzalez announced the formation of four University working groups that will be charged with guiding a dynamic strategy process – an effort that will focus on furthering OHIO’s strengths in the areas of teaching, research and service. The groups have also been tasked to identify ways that OHIO can effectively demonstrate the value of every individual on campus.
“To me, education is not just about the acquisition of knowledge, but is also the application of it,” President Gonzalez said. “If we as an institution of higher learning are doing our job well, our students will be successful not only as individuals, they will also leave here prepared to better serve.”
A “Celebration of Place”
The Investiture Ceremony for OHIO’s 23rd President served as the keynote event alongside a series of special Investiture Week events themed a “Celebration of Place.”
Celebrating the best of OHIO
During her Investiture address, President Gonzalez highlighted numerous University accomplishments and points of pride that not only make OHIO a special place – they also exemplify how education can serve as a vital connector between the past and the future.
For the fourth consecutive year, Ohio University was named the best-value public university in the state of Ohio by U.S. News and World Report, cementing its position among the nation's top institutions. The University also earned accolades for its academic excellence and commitment to student success.
Ohio University is home to 16 Division One athletic teams offering student athletes the opportunity to compete across the nation. And our student-athletes are not just performing on the field, on the court or in the pool—they are succeeding academically achieving nationally competitive Academic Progress Rates and earning record-setting graduation rates.
Last spring, Ohio University alumni and supporters around the world once again proved their commitment to supporting the next generation of Bobcats during OHIO’s fourth annual Giving Day. Generous donors shattered records for the total number of gifts in one day, contributing more than $1.1 million to experiential learning, scholarships, student support services and more.
This fall, OHIO’s total enrollment climbed with another record-setting first-year class in Athens, significant growth in incoming student enrollment on regional campuses, increases in new online and transfer student populations, and a remarkable climb in first-to-second-year student retention University-wide.
Students are trained in automation and robotics at the Fairfield County Workforce Center near OHIO’s Lancaster Campus. This fall, the number of students choosing to attend our regional campuses and online programs is at an all-time high. Last spring, OHIO launched a new set of renewable scholarships and awards to recognize outstanding achievement within the regional communities for first-year, full-time degree-seeking fall 2023 students at one of OHIO’s five regional campuses.
A student works on a research project in Ohio University’s Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment.
Ohio University’s Japanese cherry blossom trees, gifted to OHIO by its Chubu University partners, stand along the Hocking River in Athens, Ohio.
Ohio University is a leader in training health professionals across Ohio. The Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine is one of the top 50 medical schools in the nation for primary care and our College of Health Sciences and Professions is one of the largest health-focused colleges in the country.
OHIO is continuing to address long-standing environmental problems that are affecting our region, nation and world. Jason Trembly, Russ Professor of Mechanical Engineering and director of the Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment (ISEE), is utilizing waste from this coal mine in western Pennsylvania to manufacture construction composite building materials.
The work of artist and College of Fine Arts Professor of Painting + Drawing John Sabraw and Russ College of Engineering and Technology Civil Engineering Chair Guy Riefler is helping convert acid mine drainage into paint that is sold and used to help pay for the restoration of waterways that have been polluted by coal mining.
Ohio University, a Carnegie R1 research institution, is leading the way in various fields of research and innovation. The University is recognized internationally for research and scholarship in areas including avionics, biotechnology, communications, environmental studies, history, pipeline corrosion, physics, and psychology; and has world-class fine arts programs that include ceramics, film and printmaking.
This fall, Ohio University was awarded the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity award (HEED) for the sixth consecutive year. The award is given annually by INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.