By Claudia Hardy | Staff Writer
A new president promises fresh minds, new ideas and innovating memories. Ken Gormley does not stray away from these words at all. He may not be a math professor (however, he is an alumni from Harvard Law), but he brought out the big numbers from Thursday’s inauguration.
With an ceremony as special as this one, the setup and production was just as important as the actual event. In order to prepare for something like this, where does one even start, and how do you make sure there is enough of everything for everyone? The answer is simply organization and planning. In order to successfully induct a new president into the university, you have to do it the “Duquesne” way, which primarily means showing love and excitement for everything red and blue. With that in mind, this is the inauguration by the numbers.
Click through the slideshow to browse the stats from the day, or read the text in full below.
(All Pictures by Kailey Love, Photo Editor, and Brandon Addeo, News Editor)
- The #DuqNewPrez hashtag was trending before, during and after the inauguration. The hashtag was the number one Twitter trend in Pittsburgh that Thursday afternoon. Over 70 tweets were made with the hashtag over the course of the day.
- More than 400 faculty, staff and dignitaries lined up along A-Walk before Gormley’s ceremony.
- 478 people participated in the procession down Academic Walk to the A.J Palumbo Center.
- More than 2,000 people attended the inauguration. Special guests included Pennsylvania’s Lt. Gov. Mike Stack, Bishop David Zubik and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald.
- Over 13 speakers from all over the state, such as Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Christine Donohue and Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, proudly spoke to introduce Gormley.
- 81 delegates attended the event.
- One Catholic Bishop attended.
- One poet laureate attended.
- 105 musicians and conductors played in the inauguration (Voices of Spirit, Wind Symphony, Jazz Band, Joe Negri and Friends, Alianna Whiteaker-Chudecke (national anthem vocalist)).
- 320 guests attended the private mass at the Chapel of the Holy Spirit.
- 660 faculty members attended the invitation-only reception following the inauguration.
- More than 600 students attended at the post-inauguration cookout. Around 35 dining service staff worked the cookout.
- Over 1,000 commemorative t-shirts were given away for those who attended the event.
Tammy Ewin, assistant vice president for marketing and communications, said that the inauguration day events required a significant amount of work to properly pull everything together.
“The level of difficulty to plan this event, as with all events of this magnitude, there was a lot of coordination and cooperation among many departments and offices over a period of months,” Erwin said.
This recap of Gormley’s induction into the University shows the devotion and appreciation to new members of the Duquesne family. Students and staff show their appreciation through the numbers alone. As our 13th president takes over 140+ years of Duquesne grounds, the buzz for change and new beginnings will spread amongst the campus.
