More than 1,200 guests are expected to join UNC Asheville faculty, staff and students on Friday, Sept. 15, for the historic occasion of Asheville native Anne Ponder’s installation as the sixth chancellor of the University.

The formal Installation Ceremony, which signifies the official taking of office by a chancellor, will begin at 4 p.m. on the University Quadrangle. University of North Carolina President Erskine Bowles will preside over the ceremony, which will include a keynote address by Philip H. Jordan Jr., president emeritus of Kenyon College.  The ceremony will conclude with an installation address by Chancellor Ponder.

The Installation Ceremony’s opening procession will include 52 delegates, dressed in full academic regalia, each representing a different academic institution or learned society. Also in the procession will be UNC Asheville alumni, Student Government Association delegates, academic departments, student organizations, UNC Asheville Board of Trustees, Foundation Board, National Alumni Advisory Council, and National Parents Council.

Chancellor Ponder’s mother, Eleanor, will play a special role in the ceremony. “We were delighted that Eleanor Ponder, who is a noted Buncombe County educator, agreed to hold the family Bible for the oath of office,” said Merianne Epstein, UNC Asheville Public Information director. Harry C. Martin, former North Carolina Supreme Court associate justice, will administer the oath of office.

For more information, call UNC Asheville’s Public Information Office at 828/251-6526 or click on www.unca.edu/installation/.