This Friday, UNC Asheville will celebrate the installation of Dr. Nancy J. Cable, the university’s eighth permanent chancellor. 🎉

As the former Dean at Denison University and Guilford College and the Vice President + Dean of Admissions at Davidson University, Chancellor Cable – who earned her Ph.D. from the University of Virginia – brings decades of experience + national recognition to UNC Asheville. She will be officially installed on Friday, April 26 at 3 p.m. on the Quad at UNC Asheville.

Before that, UNC Asheville is taking an entire week to celebrate the public liberal arts + sciences and the transformative education it offers. Enter: Celebrate UNC Asheville!, a series of free, public community + university events April 23-26, leading up to the installation. Events are designed to highlight the culture + academics of the university, and some of them (cough stargazing cough) look so cool.

Expect thought-provoking roundtable discussions, community events, music, research + more. Best of all, everyone is invited – and everything is free. 🙌

Keep reading to see this week’s full schedule of events. ⬇️ Ⓟ

Full schedule of events for Celebrate UNC Asheville!:

🔍 Tuesday, April 23

8 a.m. | Undergraduate Research Symposium

Students will present undergraduate research projects in seminars all around campus.

🎶 Wednesday, April 24

3 p.m. | Afternoon Concert on the Quad

Live music, activities + treats by the Hop, French Broad Chocolates + Poppies Popcorn. Followed by a Tree Campus USA Celebration, in which each of UNC Asheville’s iconic maples will be named for a chancellor that served the university.

🎤 Thursday, April 25

9 a.m. | Celebrate UNC Asheville Roundtable #1

Theme: Liberal Arts + Sciences’ Vital Role for the Future of our Democracy

Led by John Peede (Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities), Dr. Lynn Pasquerella (President of the Association of American Colleges + Universities) + Dr. Lawrence T. Potter (Provost of the University of the District of Columbia).

11 a.m. | ᏙᎩᏯᏍᏗ (To Ki Ya Sdi) Room Naming Ceremony

A special ceremony to dedicate a room in the Highsmith Student Union to the Eastern Band of Cherokees, who unanimously approved the partnership.

2:30 p.m. | Celebrate UNC Asheville Roundtable #2

Theme: An Essential Right: Health and Wellness Trends and Research

Led by Dr. Rita Charon (founder of Narrative Medicine), Dr. A. Wesley Burks (CEO of UNC Healthcare) and Dr. Jeff Heck (MAHEC).

4 p.m. | Celebrate UNC Asheville Roundtable #3

Theme: Inclusive Excellence and Equity: The Power of a University Partnership

Led by Al Whitesides (Buncombe County Commissioner), Debra Campbell (City Manager), Kimberlee Archie (Equity & Inclusion Manager) Dr. Lawrence T. Potter + Frank Goldsmith (retired Civil Rights attorney).

7 p.m. | Public Lecture by Bryan Stevenson

The best-selling author + director of the Equal Justice Initiative led the team that created the first national memorial to victims of lynching. Doors open at 6 p.m.

8:30 p.m. | Community Stargaze

Explore the night sky with UNC Asheville as the university looks ahead to its future. Register here.

🎉 Friday, April 26

9 a.m. | Celebrate UNC Asheville Roundtable #4

Theme: The American Dream: Interfaith Leadership in a Religious Democracy

Led by Dr. Eboo Patel (author, founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core, and Rhodes Scholar).

10:30 a.m. | Celebrate UNC Asheville Roundtable #5

Theme: The Melting of the Arctic Permafrost: Climate Implications

Led by Max Holmes (deputy director and senior scientist at Woods Hole).

3 p.m. | Installation Ceremony + Reception

Chancellor Cable will be formally installed. Dr. Eboo Patel will give the invocation, Dr. John J. DeGioia, 48th President of Georgetown University, will give the installation address + Dr. John Kuykendall, president emeritus of Davidson College, will offer the benediction.

See you there, Asheville. Ⓟ