Celebrating President Beilock's Inauguration

Friday's Inauguration ceremony on the Green at 3:00pm will be the culmination of a series of events throughout the week, including:

• Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 5:00pm in Cook Auditorium: A fireside chat-style conversation between Beilock and trailblazing former PepsiCo CEO and bestselling author Indra Nooyi 
• Thursday, Sept. 21 at 5:00pm in Cook Auditorium: A panel discussion on innovation and impact including Thayer professor Tillman Gerngross and moderated by Thayer dean Alexis Abramson
• Friday, Sept. 22 at 11:30am on Tuck Mall: A pre-inauguration community cookout (rain location: Class of 1953 Commons).

In a ceremony that will combine time-honored tradition with a forward-looking vision for the future, Beilock will be officially installed as Dartmouth's 19th president, receiving the Wentworth Bowl from the hands of her predecessor, President Emeritus Philip J. Hanlon '77.

"I have been looking forward to this day for a long time," says Board of Trustees Chair Elizabeth Cahill Lempres '83 Th'84, who will present the new president with the Dartmouth College Charter at the ceremony and formally install her in the role.

"When the trustees unanimously elected President Beilock last year, we knew her to be an innovative scholar and leader with a vision uniquely suited for this moment in Dartmouth's history. And as so many of us have witnessed in recent months, Sian has thrown herself into every aspect of the Dartmouth community with passion, purpose, and an infectious optimism that is energizing the entire campus around the possibilities for the future. I speak for the board when I say we are proud to be her partners every step of the way."

Beilock, who began serving as president on June 12, is a world-renowned cognitive scientist who specializes in factors in the brain that influence performance—notably, the science behind what causes, and what can alleviate, "choking under pressure" in high-stakes moments, from academic exams and sports competitions to boardroom presentations.

In addition to an inaugural address by Beilock that will help set the tone for her administration, the day's featured speakers include artificial intelligence and business expert Allie Miller '10; Brown University President Christina Hull Paxson; New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, an ex officio trustee; student representatives; and Inauguration Advisory Committee co-chairs Vijay Govindarajan and Chloe Poston. The ceremony will feature a variety of musical performances, including the singing of Alma Mater.

Delegates from more than a dozen colleges and universities around the country will be in attendance, as will both of Dartmouth's living former presidents, Hanlon and global health leader Jim Yong Kim, the former president of the World Bank.

Beth Regan, the vice chairwoman of the Mohegan Tribe Council of Elders, will perform the blessing. Before the ceremony, Mohegan Tribe Vice Chairwoman Sarah Harris '00 will present Beilock with a necklace on behalf of the tribe, whose 18th-century ancestor Samson Occom is one of Dartmouth's founders.