After 31 years, the holder of Quinnipiac University’s executive office changed with the arrival of Judy Olian as the ninth president last July. During the week of April 30, she will be inaugurated with a university-wide celebration.
The events include an inauguration ceremony at the People’s United Center on May 1, faculty talks and “A Taste of the Arts,” among others.
“It is deeply humbling to be entrusted with the leadership of a university as dynamic and well-regarded as Quinnipiac,” President Olian said on a Quinnipiac Now post. “As we build the University of Your Future, we take the first symbolic steps as a Quinnipiac family along with our guests at the People’s United Center on May 1. I am grateful that the inauguration committee has programmed events throughout the celebration days to bring our community together to learn, to serve and to celebrate.”
A list of events that are included in the Inauguration Ceremony. (Courtesy: Quinnipiac University)
One gathering of particular interest during the week is a TedX event, the second of its kind for the community with the first one held in 2014. A TedX event includes speakers who present powerful ideas and speeches. The theme of the event is “Your Future.”
Quinnipiac senior and TedX host Joel Vanner also spoke of this idea and how it relates to the president’s strategic plan.
“What we’re really looking for this year is people to really come out and talk about the topic of your future,” he said. “I know it’s something that President Olian really touched upon in her strategic plan is that this is positioning Quinnipiac to to be the university of your future.”
Olian has shown her commitment to students in the form of different improvements coming down the line including the affiliation of club sports, the installment of air conditioning in residence halls in coming years and the increase of the Student Government Association budget.
“I think President Olian is really committed to listening to the students, finding out what we need and want, and working her hardest to see it become a reality,” SGA President Austin Calvo said. “I didn’t have the best start to my relationship with President Olian, but she has proven herself time and time again as the leader Quinnipiac needs.”
Calvo believes that the events will be an accurate representation of the future.
“I think they’re going to be really cool,” Calvo said. “We rarely get to see a presidential inauguration, and the events planned seem like they’re really going to represent the future of Quinnipiac, with President Olian at the helm.”
The community can find additional information about the scheduled celebration on the university’s official inauguration web page.