University Announces Inaugural Festivities including the Investiture Ceremony, Presidential Scholarship Gala at Music City Center, and a Live Production of The Wiz
NASHVILLE, TN — Fisk University will celebrate the inauguration of its 16th president, Kevin D. Rome, Sr., Ph.D., with a series of events slated from April 2-8, 2018. The investiture ceremony will be held Thursday, April 5 at 1 p.m. in the Fisk Memorial Chapel, 1000 17th Avenue North. The ceremony is open to the public.
Mayor David Briley, Talladega College President Dr. Billy C. Hawkins, Lane College President Dr. Kent J. Smith, Jr., and United Negro College Fund (U.N.C.F.) President and CEO Dr. Michael Lomax are among the distinguished guests who will bring greetings and remarks. Dr. Ronald Crutcher, 10th President of the University of Richmond, will deliver the Inaugural address.
Dr. Rome began his presidency on July 1, 2017, following an eight-month search conducted by a search committee and the school’s Board of Trustees. From July 2013 to June 2017, Dr. Rome served as president of Lincoln University of Missouri. His illustrious 20-year career in higher education also includes serving as vice chancellor for student affairs and enrollment management at North Carolina Central University, vice president for student services at Morehouse College, vice president for campus life at Clayton State University, and assistant vice chancellor for student life and diversity at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis.
A native of Columbus, GA, he holds a bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College, as well as a master’s degree from the University of Georgia. He also earned his doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin.
The university has planned events throughout the week of April 2 to celebrate the installation of the school’s sixteenth president. The following activities are open to the public:
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Convocation
Date: Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Time: 5:00pm
Location: Fisk Memorial Chapel
1000 17th Avenue, North
Nashville, TN 37208
Free and Open to the public
Investiture Ceremony
Date: Thursday, April 5, 2018
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Fisk Memorial Chapel
1000 17th Avenue, North
Nashville, TN 37208
Free and Open to the public
Inauguration Scholarship Gala
Date: Friday, April 6, 2018
Reception: 7:00pm
Event Begins: 8:00pm
Location: Music City Center | Karl F. Dean Grand Ballroom
201 5th Avenue, South
Nashville, TN 37203
Cost: $100.00 – To purchase tickets, please visit https://connect.fisk.edu/inauguration-2018
Fisk University’s Stagecrafters present:
The WIZ Dinner Theater
Date: Wednesday, April 4th and Thursday, April 5th, 2018
Dinner: 7:00pm
Show Time: 7:45pm
Location: Henderson A. Johnson Gymnasium
Cost: $25 – General Admission; $15 – Students
To purchase tickets, please visit https://connect.fisk.edu/inauguration-2018
About Fisk University
Founded in 1866, Fisk University is a private, liberal arts university located in Nashville, Tennessee. Consistently recognized for its brand of academic excellence, Fisk is ranked among the Top 10 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in the 2018 U.S. News & World Report. Fisk also ranked #4 for most awarded research expenditures in the 2017 rankings of National Liberal Arts Institutions by The Washington Monthly. To learn more about Fisk University, please visit www.fisk.edu
