In a brief ceremony Monday, Nov. 24, Dr. Irvin D. Reid was sworn in to succeed David Adamany as the ninth president of Wayne State University. U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Damon Keith administered the Oath of Office while Dr. Reid's wife, Pamela, his children and other members of his family, the Board of Governors, media and some 150 invited faculty, staff and students looked on.

Dr. Reid was introduced by Governor Denise Lewis, chair of the Board of Governors.

"It is my pleasure, on behalf of the board, to welcome you to an historic occasion that you are sharing with us, Gov. Lewis said. "We open a new chapter in the history of the university, as we gather today to swear in our ninth president, Dr. Irvin Reid.

"With him, we face the future with confidence and enthusiasm. We will link arms with faculty, students and administrators to prepare for the next millennium and we know that the next millennium holds a very prominent place for this university. I now want to introduce Judge Damon J. Keith, a great friend, a legend in the support of this university and a legend on the bench, who will swear in our next president."

Comments at swearing in of Irvin D. Reid as ninth president of Wayne State University November 24, 1997

Good Morning,

I wish to express my appreciation for the tremendous turn out this morning for what is perhaps for Pam and me the most important day in our lives, with a few exceptions. Those exceptions, of course, are the obvious ones such as our wedding day, which I put right up front without prompting from Pam, the birth of our children, the day that Nicole and Dexter graduated from college, the day that Nicole and Gabriel graduated from law school and their wedding day shortly thereafter. In a separate category, AND with the same reverence but not necessarily with agreement from Pam, I add proudly the day my golf score broke100!

I wish to offer a special word of thanks to Judge Damon Keith who so graciously adjusted his schedule to join us here today to participate in the Oath of Office. It means so much to me to have someone of your caliber to take the time to make this day extra special for my family and me.

I thank members of our family who are here today: My wife, Pam; our daughter, Nicole and her husband, Gabriel Gore; my mother-in-law, Mrs. Gloria Trotman; my niece, Felicia Reid, her daughter, Morgan, and her sister, Patrice.

I would like to thank the Board of Governors for giving me the opportunity to provide leadership to such a fine university in what promises to be exciting times in higher education as we move into the next millennium.

I would like to thank President Adamany who gave generously of his time and wisdom and provided valuable assistance to Pam and me in our transition to Detroit and Wayne State University. I look forward to having you, David, as a colleague on the faculty.

I wish to thank the many vice presidents and other administrators who through their generosity in time and wisdom, are making my transition into the culture of Wayne State University as smooth as possible. As we implement change to meet the challenges we face, difficult and sometimes painful decisions have to be made. Several of your colleagues who have worked valiantly to make Wayne what it is will be leaving the University. I know that many across the campus value their service and their friendship. As they move on with their careers, I know you would want me to thank them on behalf of the entire campus community for their service and valued contributions, and I personally want to wish them well in their future endeavors.

To become the ninth president of Wayne State University is a great honor and a special privilege in my professional life. Many of you have heard me speak of the special role that I perceive that Wayne can and should play on the urban landscape of higher education, regionally, nationally and internationally. If we are to become all that we can in this endeavor, we must face head-on several challenges.

Indeed, if we are to succeed, we must:

1. Establish better working relationships on campus and create more of a sense of community among members of the faculty, the Academic Senate, our unions, our students of all types, including commuting vs. residential, minorities ofall types -- ethnicity, gender, lifestyle, age as well as others - included in this must be members of our own Board of Governors, the administration and other members of the campus; we must establish a sense of civility and respect that allow us to disagree, debate, dissent and laugh without rancor or hate;

A. In pursuit of civility in a just community, I have invited the Policy Committee of the Senate to meet with me and my Cabinet of vice presidents and staff members on a monthly basis to discuss a mutually agreed upon agenda;

B. I will soon meet with the President of the Student Council to discuss the convening of a summit of officers of student organizations to discuss ways that we can work together to improve campus life for all;

C. I will work with the members of my Cabinet and members of the Deans' Council to plan a retreat to address the key areas on which we as administrators must focus in order to address the needs of faculty and students in preparation for Wayne State's entrance into the next millennium as a premier university, committed to an urban agenda and unique in America in pursuing its tripartite mission of teaching, research, and service.

We need to offer to our Board of Governors a clear, comprehensive vision, collegially developed and meeting with a community consensus in order to receive their encouragement and support. In this vein, we need to establish initiatives around which our campus can rally: aggressive and substantive improvements in campus computing and information technology; a global education program that is pervasive in our curriculum and campus life; an honors program that will allow us to challenge the best students at the highest academic levels and help us to begin to create a true community of scholars; improvements in both our Carnegie I and our National Research Commission (NRC)ratings; an athletic program that captures the interest and imagination of our student athletes, the campus community, the greater regional community and particularly our alumni; and a strong drive to better define the urban university for ourselves and the citizens of Michigan.

2. We need to create a unity between the University and the city through better coordination of planning necessary developments such as campus entrances, residences, other infrastructure and initiatives in improving our school system and other aspects of urban life.

3. There are those of you who rightly can ask, "How are we going to pay for all of this?" In order to meet the challenges of an urban university in a rapidly changing world, we need to:

a. Focus on continuing building the infrastructure for fundraising;

b. develop a comprehensive and dynamic enrollment planning and management strategy in order to reverse our current enrollment trends;

c. increase our enrollment back toward previous levels at the undergraduate and graduate levels;

d. develop a comprehensive strategy for diversifying our research funding across the campus; and

e. present our case for our urban and consequently unique agenda to governmental officials in Lansing and across the state to our alumni.

In closing let me say that I cannot promise that the journey upon which we now embark will be easy but I can promise that it will be exciting. I ask you to join me in this endeavor of building on the strengths of Wayne State University. We have a stewardship to keep for those many who spent their formative years as well as their professional lives here making this excellent University what it is. It is now our time to go forward and far beyond where we are.

I thank you all very much for being here. It means so very much.