Cleveland, TN–Lee University will conduct inauguration ceremonies for Dr. Mark L. Walker on Friday, April 23, at 10 a.m. EST.
The Friday morning ceremony will feature expressions shared by delegates of Lee’s staff, faculty, alumni, and students; the board of directors; and church and civic leaders. The event will also feature several musical performances, including “Praise to the Lord the Almighty” and “Let Us Be Light” with the Festival Choir and Symphony Orchestra and “In Christ Alone,” performed by the Voices of Lee. The Lee University Wind Ensemble will provide music for the processional and recessional.
Delegates from each decade of alumni, from 1918 to present, will march in the procession.
Following several special presentations, Walker will be officially installed by the board of directors and then offer the inaugural address.
Prior to the inauguration, on Thursday, April 22, Lee will hold a Special Student Chapel and other events providing opportunity for students, staff and faculty, and family and friends to recognize this historic moment.
Walker, Lee’s 17th president, took office on August 1, 2020, but due to health and safety concerns surrounding the pandemic, all inauguration festivities were postponed. Prior to his presidential appointment, Walker served as vice president for ministerial development and chair of the Department of Christian Ministries at the university for three years. Before that, he served as pastor at Mount Paran North Church of God for 25 years. He also served on Lee’s Board of Directors for seven years.
Walker succeeds Lee Chancellor Dr. Paul Conn, who served as the university’s president for 34 years, making this the school’s first inauguration ceremony since 1986.
A release from Lee University stated, “Inaugurations serve as some of the most memorable and meaningful milestones in the life of any institution. The installation of a new president marks the official beginning of a new era of leadership and allows a moment when stakeholders and other honored delegates can gather to preside over the investiture of the mantel of authority. It is also an opportune moment for a tone to be set and a vision to be cast by the newly installed president.”
Safe practices in social distancing limits the number of guests the university will be able to accommodate in person, so everyone is invited to attend this important event through a live feed of the ceremony streamed online at livestream.com/leeu.
For more information, contact the Office of Public Relations at (423) 614-8621 or [email protected].