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September 24, 2004

President Gonzalez to be inaugurated Oct. 4

A convocation has been called for noon to 3 p.m., Monday, Oct. 4 for the inauguration of President Alexander Gonzalez.

The event begins at 12:30 p.m. in the Outdoor Theatre. A reception will follow.

During a convocation, classes may be cancelled at the discretion of faculty members. Even if classes are not dismissed, students will not be penalized for attending the convocation. University staff are encouraged to attend the convocation with the permission of their supervisors.

The campus celebration in honor of Gonzalez’ induction as the 11th president of California State University, Sacramento will be rich with tradition and pageantry.

After the campus carillon in the University Union rings to call the campus together, a procession of Sacramento State current and emeriti faculty, dressed in academic regalia, will begin filing into the Outdoor Theatre. They will be followed by dozens of elected officials, community leaders and representatives from educational institutions throughout the state including more than a dozen university and community college presidents. The final group, which will include members of the CSU Board of Trustees and CSU Chancellor Charles Reed, will escort President Gonzalez to the ceremony.

Cristy Jensen, chair of the faculty senate will preside over the formal investiture ceremony which will feature a musical performance on the Mexican harp by President Gonzalez’ brother Francisco, an introduction by author and Fresno State Associate Dean Robert Levine, and greetings from the University’s four core constituencies—students, alumni, faculty and staff, and the community.

After Chancellor Reed and Board of Trustees Chair Murray Galison formally invest President Gonzalez with the responsibilities of the office, they will present him with the presidential medallion to be worn during all academic ceremonies. The California State University, Sacramento medallion is fashioned in the University’s founding colors–green to represent the foothills and trees, and gold representing discovery. Links in the chain are inscribed with the term of each one of the University’s previous presidents.

Gonzalez will then offer his vision for the how the people of Sacramento can help the campus realize its destiny in his inaugural address, “Reaching Our Potential: Destination 2010.”

The academic regalia and other symbols at presidential inauguration ceremonies can be traced to medieval institutions of higher learning. The part these traditions play in the modern inaugural reflects the continuity and standing of higher education in American culture.

This event will mark the first appearance of the University’s mace, a new symbol for Sacramento State that will be part of all future University commencements and other formal academic celebrations. The mace is a time-honored representation of a university president’s authority to confer degrees. It is carried by the University Marshall who is also the chair of the Faculty Senate.

This new mace was carved from native black walnut. The head is adorned with four gold renderings of the University seal to represent the University’s four core constituencies. The seal pays tribute to the University’s status as California’s Capital University by replicating the State of California seal surrounded by a fluted band featuring the name of the campus.

For more on the inauguration, visit www.csus.edu/inauguration. State and federal funds are not being spent on this event.

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