Celebrate the Investiture of Chancellor Charles Robinson April 20

The campus community is invited to a party celebrating the formal investiture of the University of Arkansas’ seventh chancellor — Charles F. Robinson — on April 20 on the mall between the Arkansas Union and Mullins Library.

The investiture celebration starts at noon with the SOOIE Involvement Fair with multiple registered student organizations tabling and talking with students about their organizations.

There will be live music from Funk Factory, cookies and other treats, drinks, free T-shirts and stickers. There will also be tables set up with cards that people can sign to congratulate Robinson.

Robinson will take a large photo with all students, faculty and staff in attendance at the party at 1 p.m. before heading over to the Faulkner Performing Arts Center for the formal investiture ceremony at 2 p.m. You can represent your area of campus during the photo by wearing shirts that represent your department, program, the U of A or the Razorbacks.

Robinson was selected as the seventh chancellor of the U of A on Nov. 16, 2022, and is the first Black chancellor, first director of the U of A African and African American Studies Program to become chancellor and the only U of A vice chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs to become chancellor.

An investiture ceremony is one of the oldest traditions in academia and involves formally installing an individual into a campus leadership position and presenting them with symbols of their authority and responsibilities. The ceremony itself will include greetings from leaders of several groups and remarks from Robinson, who will speak about the 150 Forward strategic planning process and share observations on this moment relative to the university’s land-grant mission.

The formal investiture ceremony will be at 2 p.m. in the Faulkner Performing Arts Center, which will likely be at capacity. The formal ceremony will be livestreamed on the university’s YouTube channel, and there will be overflow viewing available in Arkansas Union rooms 507-509.

Post your messages of congratulations and well wishes to Chancellor Robinson on your favorite social media outlet using hashtags #UARK, #7thChancellor, #CharlesFRobinson. 

This story also appeared in the University of Arkansas News publication.