Southwestern College will inaugurate Bradley J Andrews as its 19th president on Thursday, April 14.  

The inauguration ceremony will begin at 4 p.m. in the Richardson Performing Arts Center.  A large crowd is anticipated and will include Southwestern College Board of Trustees members, the Southwestern College administrative council, Great Plains United Methodist Bishop Scott Jones, former Southwestern College presidents, deans and faculty, and delegates representing colleges and universities throughout the state. 

The invocation will be given by Bishop Richard Wilke, bishop in residence at Southwestern followed by remarks from Dr. David Smith, Southwestern College Board of Trustees chair; Trisha Andrews, wife of Brad Andrews, and Greg Campbell, retired president of Carthage College (Wisc.); and the inaugural address from Brad Andrews.  

A reception will follow at 5:15 p.m. in Deets Library. 

The inauguration ceremony is open to the public.  The parking lots on the south and north side of Christy Administration Building will be reserved for those individuals who have already been issued parking passes.  Golf cart service will be available for persons with mobility issues.

Inauguration day also will include a 10 a.m. dedication of presidential pavers and a tree planting at the Cole Mound Plaza located at the bottom of the 77 Steps. First Lady Trish Andrews will be honored at a noon reception Friday, April 15, in Deets Library, and “Quiet,” an exhibit of photographs by Trish Andrews, will be displayed in the library from Tuesday to Sunday. 

In addition to the inauguration ceremony itself, two events are of special interest to community members and friends of the college: First, all are invited to write a message on the “Wall of Well Wishes” on Tuesday in Deets Library or on Wednesday in the Christy Administration Building lobby.  Second, community members are encouraged to attend Wednesday chapel service at 11 a.m. in Richardson Performing Arts Center. Speaker at chapel will be Lauren Hansen, director for alumni and parent programs at Carthage College.

Phil Jarvis ’64, Mary Jarvis ’87, and Cory Helmer ’99, are members of the presidential inauguration committee.  In addition to faculty, staff, and students, they represented the community and alumni on the committee.