INAUGURATION DePauw’s gold shines as Lori S. White is inaugurated as president The golden sun shone on DePauw University Oct. 1, as Lori S. White was inaugurated as DePauw’s 21st president. The two-hour ceremony was marked by a cloudless sky, vibrant academic regalia, inspirational songs and rousing speeches. Attendees – students, alumni, faculty and staff members, White’s family and friends and delegates from more than 50 higher education institutions from across the country – braved the unusually warm temperature and honored a requirement to wear masks to witness a moment in DePauw history: White is the first woman and first person of color to be appointed president. The inauguration’s theme was “Rise,” based on the poem “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou, one of White’s favorites. The ceremony featured several songs, including a rendition of Rosephanye Powell’s song “Still I Rise” by the DePauw Chamber Singers and “The Impossible Dream,” sung by Chloé Johnson ’22. Thomas Parham, president of California State University, Dominguez Hills, presided over a libation ceremony, a celebratory ritual in which he harkened to ancestral spirits. English professor Eugene Gloria, the John Rabb Emison professor of creative and performing arts, read his poem, “Outside of Eden,” which he wrote for the occasion. Holden Thorp, to whom White reported when he was provost and she vice chancellor at Washington University, gave the keynote speech before White offered remarks. Photos: Brittney Way, Linda Striggo and Cami Henry ’22
6 I DEPAUW MAGAZINE FALL 2021
