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Mazey installed as BGSU’s 11 president Surrounded by family, friends and the University community, Dr. Mary Ellen Mazey was formally installed as the 11th president of BGSU on Dec. 2 in a ceremony at the Stroh Center. Dr. Peter Magrath, president of Binghamton University and a former colleague of Dr. Mazey’s from West Virginia University, gave the keynote address. A well-known leader in higher education, Magrath has served as president of several universities and in leadership roles for national educational organizations. Magrath urged the BGSU community to “love and support” Mazey not just in the coming months but throughout her tenure as president. “Mary Ellen assumes her leadership role in a context where the role of higher education is vastly different from when we were younger,” he said, pointing to the significant challenges ahead. Following her investiture, Mazey acknowledged many of the people who helped her along the way including her mother, a woman who never finished high school and was 12 BGSU Magazine
widowed at the age of 30, but still raised three children who received advanced degrees. “I am here today because, like so many others, higher education gave me the foundation to fulfill the American Dream,” she said. “We all want to position Ohio to have a workforce that meets the future needs of our economy and ensures that (this dream) is within reach of all of our citizens. Our degrees must be innovative and flexible. We will always be a residential University, but we must find new ways to deliver our curriculum and give students across the state and around the world the flexibility to receive a degree from BGSU.” A series of events was held throughout the week leading up to the historic ceremony. An academic symposium on “Geography in the Changing World of Higher Education: Opportunities and Challenges” took place on Nov. 28. President Mazey served as the honorary coach for the women’s basketball win against Western Kentucky Nov. 29 and a Student Research Symposium was held Nov. 30. A weeklong food drive was also held, with collection bins around campus.