UNH celebrated the inauguration of Elizabeth S. Chilton as the university's 21st president Nov. 15 with a ceremony held in the Memorial Union Building's Granite State Room. Members of the UNH community and distinguished guests from other universities filled the room, with overflow seating assembled along the walls to accomodate the crowd, and Chilton was greeted with a standing ovation before and after speaking.
It was a festive celebration in which students were featured prominently. Members of The 'Cat Pack Captains welcomed the crowd with the "It's a great day to be a Wildcat" callback, and the ceremony included performances by a capella group Alabaster Blue and the UNH dance team. M.J. Condon, USNH student trustee, also delivered remarks.
The full program featured remarks from Chilton as well as Jeffrey Halpern, chair of the UNH Faculty Senate, and Kevin Knarr '91 of the USNH Board of Trustees.
Chilton referred to herself as "in some ways an unlikely candidate for a university presidency," noting that she was a first-generation college student who inititally struggled to find a sense of belonging. But she transferred following her first year and soon thrived, graduating and building a career in higher ed in which she continued to take on "wider spheres of responsibility," first as a professor and later as a dean, provost, associate vice chancellor and chancellor before joining UNH as its president.
"This is an honor that the insecure and anxious 18-year-old I spoke about earlier would never have imagined, and one that I am grateful and excited to pursue in service to all of you and to this incredible institution," Chilton said.
You can watch Chilton's complete remarks, as well as the full ceremony, in the video above.
