Investiture Ceremony

Prelude

Instrumental Performance Ensemble conducted by Florian Conzetti, associate professor of music

Music arranged by Aaron Smith ’27

Processional

Invocation

Stephen Sherwood, DMin, university chaplain and director of service learning

Jon George, Tribal Council secretary, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde

Welcome and Greetings

Lucinda Day Fournier ’95, chair, Linfield University Board of Trustees

Messages to the President

Sydney Downing ’26, vice president of student events, Associated Students of Linfield University McMinnville

Cynthia Morales Ornelas ’26, vice president, Associated Students of Linfield University Portland

McKenna (Pyeatt) Knapp ’13, chair, Alumni Leadership Council

Kim Morris, mayor, City of McMinnville

U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas, Oregon’s Sixth District

Marvin Henberg, president emeritus, College of Idaho

Joe Wilkins, Department of English chair, professor of creative writing and environmental studies

Julie Fitzwater ’06, School of Nursing associate dean, associate professor of nursing and Faculty Senate chair

Musical Interlude

“Sing My Child” by Sarah Quartel

Linfield Concert Choir conducted by Julie Cross, assistant professor of music

Maggie Greenland ’29 and Erik Martin ’27, soloists

Eleanor Black ’28, djembe

Presentation of the President’s Regalia and Medallion

Lucinda Day Fournier ’95, chair, Linfield University Board of Trustees

Introduction of the 21st President of Linfield University

David W. Bacharach, FACSM, professor emeritus, St. Cloud State University

Inaugural Remarks

Mark Blegen, president

Musical Interlude

“Wonder” by William Campbell, Department of Music chair and associate professor of music

Song premiere performed by Linfield Concert Choir, members of Wildcat Glee and the North Valley Community Chorus

Conducted by Julie Cross, assistant professor of music

Benediction

Rev. Erika Marksbury, senior pastor, McMinnville First Baptist Church

Recessional 

Linfield Wildcat Band conducted by Joe Ready, director

The Investiture Ceremony and Inauguration Week events are generously supported through the financial contributions of Linfield alumni, donors and friends. Thank you! 

Mark Blegen is an experienced academic leader, educator and advocate for the liberal arts with a career spanning more than two decades in higher education.

Before coming to Linfield, he served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Carroll University in Wisconsin. While there, he oversaw a $40 million academic affairs budget and led initiatives that included launching the university’s first Ph.D. program, expanding graduate offerings and partnering with a Milwaukee high school to establish an associate degree in nursing for bilingual students. He also played a central role in advancing inclusive hiring practices, expanding tenure-track opportunities, stabilizing enrollment and fundraising for the institution.

Prior to his work at Carroll, Blegen held faculty and leadership positions at St. Catherine University in Minnesota, including dean of the Henrietta Schmoll School of Health and chair of the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Science. He began his academic career teaching and coaching, including winning two national championships as an assistant football coach at the University of Mount Union. He is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and previously worked with the U.S. Olympic Committee. He earned his Ph.D. in exercise physiology from Kent State University, a master’s degree from St. Cloud State University and a bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College.

Outside of his professional life, he is also a proud father to two daughters, Krin and Lyv. Read more about President Blegen at linfield.edu/president

David Bacharach is a professor emeritus in the Department of Kinesiology at St. Cloud State University. There, he coordinated graduate programs and directed the Human Performance Laboratory. He is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and a research consortium fellow of the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. Over the course of his academic career, he co-authored four books, 10 book chapters and more than 50 peer-reviewed articles. He also chaired more than 75 doctoral and master students’ committees, including Mark Blegen’s completion of a Master of Science in exercise physiology. His recent work includes an invited address at the 9th International Congress on Science and Skiing in Vuokatti, Finland (2020), as well as authoring or co-authoring three chapters in The Science of Alpine Ski Racing (2023). In retirement, Bacharach continues to serve as a reviewer for exercise science journals.

1096 University of Oxford: Marvin Henberg, alumnus

1749 Washington and Lee University: Tom Wadlow, alumnus

1819 Centre College: Michael Crosser, alumnus

1824 Kenyon College: Barry Gorden, alumnus

1846 Beloit College: Shaik Ismail, alumnus

1846 Grinnell College: Heidi Eggert, alumnus

1849 Pacific University: Jennifer Coyle, president

1855 Bates College: Kathryn T. Gates, alumnus

1857 The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde: Jon George, Tribal Council member

1861 Luther College: Thomas L. Hellie, alumnus

1869 St. Cloud State University: David W. Bacharach, faculty emeritus

1876 Johns Hopkins University: David P. Beck, alumnus, and Jeanne C. Beck, alumnus

1887 Gonzaga University: Sharon Cade, regent

1891 George Fox University: Robin Baker, president

1901 University of Portland: Robert D. Kelly, president

1907 University of Redlands: Robert McCann, alumnus

1929 Marist University: Gayatree S. Sarma, alumnus

1946 Claremont McKenna College: Marisa E. Walter, alumnus

1950 Oregon Alliance of Independent Colleges and Universities: Brent Wilder, president