The handover from one university president to the next is a momentous occasion. The investiture of current CMU president, Bob Davies, on March 19 was no exception. As the CMU News press release noted, there was much “presidential pomp and circumstance.” But pomp and circumstance are not always part of the inauguration program. Sometimes, the word, “interim” is removed from an interim president’s title and the change is completed with little ceremony. On other occasions, the spirit of the times might set an agenda, one to which the new chief executive might be aligned. 50 years ago, on May 12, 1969, such was the case at Central Michigan University.
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| President Boyd (center) during his inauguration, May, 12, 1969 |
President William Boyd, who was the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at UC-Berkeley, became CMU’s 7th President in July of 1968 and changes were many – CMU ended the policy of in loco parentis in September 1968, the Faculty Association was organizing, and CMU started its first effort to reach out to students of color. In the weeks surrounding the inauguration, things were hopping: Stevie Wonder played a concert; Greek Week occurred; the third annual Gentle Friday was happening; and President Boyd would announce that Dr. Robert Thornton of San Francisco State College – the school that started the first Black Studies program in the country in March 1969 – was going to be on campus to help CMU incorporate Black Studies into the curriculum. There is no doubt that everyone’s plate was full.
In the midst of this change and activity, the plan for the inauguration was envisioned a little differently. As Board of Trustees Chair, Albert J. Fortino, wrote in the invitation sent in March of 1969:
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Contemporary problems highlight the urgency for an institution such as ours to concentrate its efforts and resources toward meeting the needs of all social and economic segments of our society. Central Michigan University will, therefore, allocate the funds which would have been designated for the traditional formal inauguration of Dr. Boyd to a fund to assist disadvantaged students. We hope that you will share the spirit of this inauguration with us. You may in fact, wish to direct the expense funds which may have been incurred ... to your own university’s projects for disadvantaged students.
With the spirit of the occasion laid out, the Monday inauguration ceremony, which started at 2:00 pm, began modestly and rather traditionally. Classes ended at noon so students and other attendees could pile into Finch Fieldhouse for the event. There were remarks from the Governor of the State, William Milliken, as well as performances by the Women’ Glee Club and the Symphony Orchestra. There were also comments from Trustee Fortino, the outgoing student body president, and the chair of the University Senate. The President of Alma College, Rev. Robert D. Swanson, gave the invocation. During his speech, President Boyd spoke about the social unrest of the times – disharmony, revolution, and discontentment – but he also offered the audience some inspirational thoughts about what the future held for CMU: “We now have the resources needed to build [the finest educational institution in the state] here. As a threshold university, we can delight in the happy circumstance that our moment of greatest success should still he ahead.”
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| Inaugural reception in the University Center, May 12, 1969 |
After the “informal ceremony,” as the CM Life referred to it, students and the campus community were invited to a reception in the University Center. But the real party was to begin a bit later, when folk singer Buffy Saint-Marie played a concert a 8:00 pm that evening in Finch Fieldhouse. The concert was hosted by the new president as part of his inauguration and was free for everyone.
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| Students surround Buffy Sainte-Marie, May 12, 1969 |
In addition to being a popular folk singer and songwriter, Sainte-Marie is also a social activist, and her performance that evening did not hold back. During her performance, Sainte-Marie, who is a member of the Piapot Cree Nation, sang many songs about the plight of indigenous peoples of North America. She also sang about the Vietnam War and other social issues of the time, all of which roused the crowd to their feet on several occasions. As Mary Irvine, who was a freshman at the time, later recalled:
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| Buffy Sainte-Marie performing, May 12, 1969 |
Not often does a university president offer students an afternoon off from classes to attend an “informal ceremony,” a reception, and a concert performed by a legend of activism and folk music. Fifty years later, the Boyd inauguration is remembered as a notable moment in the history of Central Michigan University, when the students, the trustees, and the President opted to forego pomp and circumstance in favor of "a 'swinging' ceremony."