On Friday, February 25, Mark A. Roberts, Ph.D., was inaugurated as the 21st president of Reinhardt University. The ceremony, attended by Reinhardt faculty, staff, alumni, the Reinhardt Board of Trustees, state and local officials, and college and university presidents from across the region, was held in the Falany Performing Arts Center on the Reinhardt University campus.
Roberts brings twenty-five years of private higher education experience to his role as president. A native of Maryville, Tennessee, he attended Middle Tennessee State University where he earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English literature and language. He went on to earn a doctorate in interdisciplinary studies in the humanities at the Union Institute and University. Roberts came to Reinhardt in 2013 as the vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty. Since then, Roberts has also served Reinhardt in the roles of provost, executive vice president, and interim president, in addition to being writing center director and a professor.
“The ruling passion of my life is to do work that has real meaning” Roberts said during his inaugural address. “Early in my career, I gained this visceral sense of purpose by pursuing my first love, which is teaching, and inspiring students to get ahold of the power of learning and to get ahold of the power of their own voice through writing. That was my passion. But, through that, I also began to understand that I had a calling and that calling was to service private higher education, especially colleges located in and around Appalachia.”
Keeping with the inauguration theme of salt and light, Roberts concluded, “I commit to you today to instill hope, to invest in the life that is knowledge, to preserve and lift up the institution’s spirit, and to broaden the scope of opportunities for this great university. And with me, will you commit to being the salt that preserves, flavors, seasons, and spices up Reinhardt? Will you be with me the light that makes it shine with excellence, with openness, acceptance, and benevolence? With me, will you devote yourself to making Reinhardt University a place where the real work is performed to create a good life, not for one, but for all? Will you go with me? Yes? Then let us go, you and I together, being salt and light for Reinhardt.”
Pictured, left to right: Rev. Brian Smith, pastor of Waleska United Methodist Church; Mark A. Roberts, Ph.D., president of Reinhardt University; C. Ken White, chair of Reinhardt board of trustees
