Robert Barker/University Photography

Gretchen Ritter, the Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Joel Malina, vice president for university relations, oversee the preparations for the inauguration of President Elizabeth Garrett. Ritter and Malina served as co-chairs of the Inauguration Steering Committee.

Joe Wilensky

Jim Bob Haner, a member of the custodial staff with Cornell Building Care, rolls out the first of what will be 3,500 red chairs on the Arts Quad for the Sept. 18 inauguration of President Elizabeth Garrett.

Joe Wilensky

Red ribbons lead the way to Bailey Hall, where the academic panel on democracy and inequality will be held Sept. 18.

Staging? Check. Sound system? Check. Ag Quad tents? Check. Hay bales? … hay bales?

Yes, there will be hay bales. One hundred of them, scattered across the Ag Quad for seating at the Sept. 18 community picnic following the installation ceremony of Elizabeth Garrett as president of Cornell. Faculty, staff, students, alumni and members of the local community lent their creativity and enthusiasm in planning inauguration events, and hay bales are just part of the myriad details on the final checklist.

“We wanted to make Cornell’s 13th presidential inauguration inclusive of all of Cornell and the Ithaca community,” said Gretchen Ritter, the Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and co-chair of the Inauguration Steering Committee. “We strove to be all-encompassing – evoking Cornell’s proud traditions and looking ahead to a promising future; incorporating serious moments of reflection and exuberant moments of celebration; representing all of the colleges and units, with venues across campus leading up to Homecoming Weekend, followed by a reception in New York City.”

It has taken a cast of hundreds to capture this broad vision. From the formal morning procession and installation ceremony on the Arts Quad, to the informal picnic on the Ag Quad, the academic panel on democracy and inequality in Bailey Hall and the reception in New York City, events were chosen to highlight all things Cornell.

“Even when the steering committee first began meeting late last January, we were guided by then President-elect Elizabeth Garrett’s desire that the inauguration be a celebration that included all of Cornell,” said Joel Malina, vice president for university relations and co-chair of the committee. “The entire campus community really has come together to make this a uniquely Cornell experience.”

After Charter Day, April 24, inauguration preparation began in earnest. Elements used in the Charter Day celebration were repurposed for inauguration, including using the light boxes at the faculty reception and inauguration dinner and the red carpet for the installation procession. The inauguration website launched; emails, save-the-date notifications and invitations were developed and disseminated. Performers were booked. Logistics for transportation, security, weather and livestream were worked out.

This past week, inauguration preparations have accelerated. As the big day approaches, staff across campus are:

• Installing the green portable floor on the Arts Quad;
• Setting up 3,500 chairs for the installation ceremony;
• Setting up 500 feet of stanchions and rope;
• Rolling out 477 feet of red carpet;
• Moving coat racks from Barton to Day Hall for regalia distribution;
• Setting up 100 tables on the Ag Quad for food buffets and “back-of-house” operations;
• Preparing 5,000 box lunches;
• Making 450 gallons of the new Cornell ice cream, 24 Garrett Swirl; and, of course,
• Placing those hay bales.