On Friday, April 7 from 1-3 p.m., the inauguration ceremony commemorating the transfer of power to EMU’s new president will commence. Dr. Susan Huxman will assume the position after leaving her tenure as president of Conrad Grebel University College in Ontario. Huxman will be EMU’s first female president and the ninth president since the university was founded in 1917.
Because the inauguration is during class hours, the class schedule has been changed for the entire day. 8 a.m. classes will start at normal time, but will last until 8:30. All classes afterwards will be 40 minutes long. 9 a.m. classes will be from 8:40-9:20 a.m., 10:40 a.m. classes from 9:30-10:10 a.m., 11:40 a.m. classes from 10:20-11 a.m., 12:40 p.m. classes from 11:10-11:50 a.m., and 1:40 p.m. classes from 12-12:40 p.m.. After the inauguration, the 2:40 p.m. classes will meet at 3 p.m., and the 3:40 p.m. classes will meet at 3:50 p.m.
The inauguration comes at the end of a week of special events in preparation for the inauguration, including a trivia night facilitated by Dr. Huxman, the LovEMU giving drive, and a hymn sing with some songs selected by Dr. Huxman.
As part of inauguration week, President Susan Huxman attended several campus events. She attended the last hymn sing of the month and the final CAC-run Trivia Night.
Senior Jonathan Bishop and Sophomore Brandon Chupp led a hymn sing Monday night as part of the week-long celebration of President Huxman’s inauguration. Huxman attended the event and was the only faculty member or administrator member there.
Sophomore Madalynn Payne enjoyed Huxman’s presence. “I really appreciated her participation. We very rarely see any faculty and staff show up, so it was a pleasant surprise to see her there,” Payne said. “I enjoyed that she participated in an activity that is student- led and student-based and that put her in a student context.”
Huxman’s presence, combined with the fact that this week’s hymn sing was the last one of the semester, led to a large turnout. Shortly into the hymn sing, the circle needed to expand to accommodate for the large group.
In between songs, students chatted and joked around with each other. At times, Bishop began singing over the chatter to bring the students back on track. “There was more excitement in the air. We don’t know our new president that well,” said Sophomore Andrew Troyer.
Bishop and Chupp led several Easter hymns. Students appreciated this theme. “I really enjoyed some of the Easter hymns. They are some of my favorites to sing and play,” Payne said.
Troyer added, “[It] was great with ‘Low in the Grave He Lay.’ That was definitely a highlight.”
By attending the hymn sing, Huxman was able to gain further insight into campus life in a more intimate way than just observing. “There’s nothing quite like worshipping together. Hymn sings are one of those opportunities to get together with my peers and worship. I thoroughly enjoy those opportunities, and Monday night was one of them,” Payne said. Huxman’s attendance gave her an opportunity to worship with students.
Huxman also attended Trivia Night on Tuesday as part of the inauguration celebration. Although some students did not realize that Huxman and her husband, Jesse, would be leading Trivia Night, many appreciated that Huxman is becoming a part of EMU’s campus. “I’m glad she’s including herself in the community,” First-year Joseph Harder said.
“It’s cool that she’s leading [Trivia Night] and getting involved with campus life,” Senior Liana Hershey said. Huxman opened Trivia Night with an announcement about the donations received from the events of LovEMU day. She informed the crowd that they had raised about $98,000 from approximately 500 donors. “It is a great day for giving and generosity at EMU,” she said.
Jesse Huxman made all of the trivia questions, which ranged from topics like Buckingham Palace to P!nk’s birth name. Participants were pleased with the trivia questions. The winner of the night was Quiz-Lamic State, a team of only seniors.
