The University of Tennessee at Martin will hold a formal investiture ceremony for its new chancellor, Dr. Yancy Freeman, at 2 p.m. Friday, March 15, in the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
The public is invited to attend this historic event.
This will be the first time for the university to have an investiture for a new chancellor, and the ceremony provides a sense of pride, history and tradition for the university and its stakeholders.
The theme of the investiture event – which includes an academic procession, investiture ceremony and reception – is “Ready, Set, Soar!”
An investiture is a formal installation or ceremony that a person undergoes in gaining a high office.
The word “investiture” comes from the Latin words meaning “to clothe in” or “to enrobe,” indicating a ceremony in which the officeholder would receive the robes or other garments associated with that position or office.
In the case of a university chancellor, those trappings go beyond fashion. Freeman will receive the University of Tennessee at Martin Ceremonial Mace and the University of Tennessee at Martin Chancellor’s Medallion.
Freeman started as a recruiter while pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, then became that university’s associate director of admissions.
He served as the UTC vice chancellor for enrollment management and student success in 2017 and was then named vice chancellor of enrollment management and student affairs in 2018 before being confirmed as UT Martin’s 12th chancellor last July by the UT Board of Trustees. His appointment was effective Aug. 9, 2023.
Freeman is also the first African-American chancellor to serve at an undergraduate University of Tennessee campus.
Dignitaries from colleges and universities across Tennessee and across the nation have been invited to witness the official induction of Freeman as UT Martin chancellor. Governmental and civic leaders and other notable people have also been invited to attend this historic ceremony.
Scheduled speakers at the event include UT System President Randy Boyd, UT Martin Faculty Senate President Dr. Dan McDonough, UT Martin Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Dr. Philip Acree Cavalier and UT Martin Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Dr. Andy Lewter.
The investiture serves as a platform to celebrate the university’s commitment to academic excellence and its mission. The event underscores the importance of recognizing and supporting the new chancellor’s role in guiding the university community toward its collective goals.
It is an opportunity for the university to showcase its institutional pride and emphasize the continuity of strong leadership within the academic community.
For more information about the UT Martin investiture ceremony, visit investiture.utm.edu.
Photo: UT Martin Chancellor Yancy Freeman will be formally invested as chancellor with an investiture ceremony March 15.
