Planning is currently underway for the inauguration of the UA’s 21st President, Ann Weaver Hart, which will take place Nov. 30.

Seven members make up the inauguration committee directly involved in organizing the event. The committee will meet every week and a half in order to discuss plans and will maintain communication with Hart and reform the event based on her input.

Possible activities for the day-long event include a variety of activities, such as a breakfast with student and faculty leadership, a luncheon with UA foundation attendees and a final welcoming ceremony.

Some committee members stressed the need for students to be involved and recognized during the event.

“Any president feels such an awesome responsibility for the students who are being served by that university,” said Jory Hancock, dean of the College of Fine Arts and chair of the inauguration planning committee. “I’m sure that’s the case with President Hart, and it would be an odd thing to have a ceremony that didn’t acknowledge, first and foremost, the importance of students.”

The main ceremony will take place from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Centennial Hall and will host a variety of campus and community representative speeches, along with the inaugural address.

The speakers have not yet been selected, but the plan is to represent a broad constituency of campus and community interests, Hancock said.

Hancock, who also served as chair of the committee when President Shelton was inaugurated, said that having a day-long event provides a number of advantages by affecting a wide audience.

“Everyone is there for that one day, and the president is able to reach out and touch all of those groups and interact with all of those groups in a single day,” he said. “There’s something symbolic about that, I feel.”

Others also commented on the cost benefits for the university by only holding a daylong inauguration as opposed to something longer.

“We’re looking at certainly keeping the cost down and making sure it’s a relevant activity,” said Jaime Gutierrez, vice president of external relations. “If we spend a week on these activities it really, I think, takes away from some of the more serious challenges we need to take a look at.”

The inauguration committee held their first meeting a few weeks ago and will continue efforts to finalize plans for the event.