Richard V. Hurley shares a special moment on the dance floor with his “best friend,” wife Rose, at the Sept. 30 inaugural ball held in honor of his installation as UMW’s ninth president.
Excitement hung in the air inside Dodd as distinguished representatives from UMW and other colleges, universities, and learned societies – draped in full academic regalia and accompanied by the music of the UMW Faculty Brass Quintet– filed inside. Hurley’s grand entrance was met with a flurry of waves, cheers, and camera flashes. He twice served as acting president, but officially became president of UMW on July 1, 2010.
The event, presided over by UMW Board of Visitors Rector Daniel K. Steen ’84, was peppered with applause and standing ovations.
Gialamas spoke, as did Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges President Belle S. Wheelan, who encouraged Hurley to focus on possibilities rather than uncertainties.
Virginia Secretary of Education Laura W. Fornash delivered greetings on behalf of Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and said “Today is the day to celebrate this new chapter for this very special university.”
UMW Alumni Association President Derek M. Bottcher ’96 assured Hurley of alumni support for his goal of making Mary Washington the best liberal arts and sciences university in the country. UMW Professor of English and Arrington Distinguished Chair in Poetry Claudia Emerson poignantly conveyed her endorsement through her reading of Wind Scale, a poem she wrote especially for the occasion. [Read the poem.]