Inaugural Celebration for President Pinto on Oct. 20 Tied to Homecoming

To celebrate the return of a long-time faculty member and administrator as its 30th President, the University of Cincinnati will inaugurate Neville G. Pinto during its 2017 Homecoming Weekend.

The inauguration events on

Friday, Oct. 20,

will reflect President Pinto’s commitment to placing students at the center with a fun and festive "Inaugural Celebration on the Commons" free and open to all students, faculty, staff and alumni, from

3 to 5 p.m.

on McMicken Commons. Activities will be set up in each section of the Commons for all to enjoy. The outdoor party will feature:

• Food trucks with food by New Orleans to Go,  Injoy and additional catering by Cincinnati Catering.
• Beverage stations.
• Desserts by Sweet Petit and OCD Cakes.
• Music with DJ The Music Concierge.
  
• Live performances by the International Dance Team.
• Games and activities including a giant Jenga, Connect 4, cornhole, UC canvas painting, a photo booth and a giveaways station.

Celebration attendees are encouraged to wear their favorite Bearcats attire. RSVPs are

recommended

. Buses will be available with the following routes in continuous loops at:

• College of Pharmacy, College of Medicine, University Hall to McMicken Hall - 2:30 to 5:30 p.m.
• UC Blue Ash College to McMicken Hall - 2 to 5 p.m. (yellow bus)
  
• UC Clermont College to McMicken Hall - 2 to 5 p.m. (yellow bus)
  

Preceding the campus celebration, the UC community may also view President Pinto’s inauguration ceremony, which takes place at 1 p.m. Due to space limitations, the ceremony will be

webcast

live on the

Inauguration website

and presented on Facebook Live for all to watch from anywhere on streaming devices. (Group viewing locations will include the Tangeman University Center food court video wall, Nippert Stadium, residence halls and other sites).

During the ceremony, UC Board of Trustees Chairman Thomas Cassady will present the university’s presidential medallion to Dr. Pinto. Joining in the presentation of the medal will be Dean Lawrence Johnson of the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services and Dean Robert Probst of the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning.

The following day on

Saturday, Oct. 21

, President Pinto and his spouse, Dr. Jennifer Pinto, have been selected to serve as grand marshals for the 2017 Homecoming Day parade. The parade begins at noon and the kick off time for the Bearcats vs SMU football game is 4 p.m.

Dr. Pinto took office on Feb. 20, after his selection in December 2016 by the university’s Board of Trustees to serve as president. In higher education, it is customary for presidential inaugurations to occur several months to a year after a president’s arrival.

From 1985 to 2011, Pinto served as a UC faculty member, then department head in chemical engineering (1993-97), assistant dean for graduate studies in the College of Engineering and Applied Science (2002-2006) and Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (2006-11).  He left UC to become Dean of the University of Louisville’s Speed School of Engineering (2011-15) and later became UofL’s Interim Executive Vice President and Provost and then Acting President.