Highlights of the Installation of President Len Jessup
Several hundred guests attended Carrying the Flame: A Community Celebration, a special ceremony honoring Claremont Graduate University’s heritage and featuring the installation of Len Jessup as CGU’s 12th president.
Held on a mild, sunny afternoon in November, the celebration included remarks by Associate Provost Andrew Vosko (master of ceremonies), Board of Trustees Chair Tim Kirley, history department chair Joshua Goode, and several members of the university’s alumni community.
The speakers—Jeanne Holm (MS, Management of Information Systems, ’01), Tom Hsieh (EMBA, ’04), Whitney Martinez (MBA, ’18), and Gloria Willingham-Touré (PhD, Education, ’96)—all described their pride as members of the alumni community.
“CGU students move forward in the world representing the values that we have been taught,” Holm told the audience. “We have learned to be kind, generous, curious, and brave. Our flame is lit with these beacons of hope.”
Holm and her fellow alumni were followed by Kirley, who presented Jessup with the presidential medallion and chains of office.
Jessup’s acceptance remarks focused on the opportunities that CGU enjoys as a world-class institution and the advantages that a small school has in comparison to Jessup’s previous post as president of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
“Getting anything done at a big school feels like you’re turning a battleship, or a battleship group,” he told the audience. “But CGU is small, nimble, entrepreneurial, creative. There’s an excitement and an optimism that we have enjoyed many good days but have even better days ahead.”
The celebration concluded with a special Town & Gown reception attended by the presidents of the other member schools of The Claremont Colleges, members of the Claremont City Council, and other guests. Music was provided by guitarist Seth Greenberg (DMA, ’10) as well as a bassist and saxophonist.
Would you like to join President Jessup in carrying the flame? Make your gift in support of the university’s future. Visit cgu.edu/give.
