SHERMAN, TEXAS—Dr. Marjorie Hass was officially installed as the 15th president of Austin College on November 5. She began duties as president on July 1.  

A beautiful fall afternoon, a rainbow of color in the academic procession of delegates from colleges and universities around the country, and a swell of optimism and support for Austin College’s new president blended to form the perfect celebration for the faculty, staff, students, alumni, board members, and friends of the 160-year-old College.  

“If I look happy, it’s because I am,” a radiant Dr. Hass told those assembled as she began her inaugural address following the installation led by Board of Trustees chair Robert M. Johnson, assisted by Austin College president emeritus Oscar C. Page, the 14th president.  

Dr. Marjorie Hass, at center, receives the Austin College presidential medallion upon her inauguration as the 15th president of Austin College. At left, Oscar Page, 14th president of the College, assists Board of Trustees chair Robert Johnson, at far right, in presenting the symbol of the presidential office and authority.

Speaking on her inauguration theme of “New Horizons,” Dr. Hass said that though individuals learn that there is no literal horizon where earth and sky meet, they never stop seeing the horizon before them. “And more importantly, we never stop looking to the horizon as the place just out of reach but close enough to almost touch,” she said. “The horizon stands for our hopes, for our futures, for our ability to hang on to those precious glimmers even when reason tells us that they are hard to attain.”   

Sharing thoughts on plans and hopes for Austin College on “the horizon,” Dr. Hass continued, “A college grows in the healthy soil of good planning and sound strategic investments. But it also needs the rain of simple hope, the oxygen of grace, and the equivalent of lots of spiritual duct tape. For what we do here is a form of practical magic. We find ways to see more. We teach the ways to see the horizon when it’s hidden, and we offer lessons in dream following and dream making.  

“How do we do it? We do it by allowing ourselves to look toward ever new horizons, to keep our dreams before us, to know that the even as we move forward, the vistas before us continue to grow.” 

Dr. Peyton Randolph Helm, president of Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania, introduced Dr. Hass at the event. Dr. Hass had been a faculty member and then administrator at Muhlenberg, rising to the role of provost, which she held from 2004 until her move to Austin College.  

College presidential inaugurations typically include representatives of other higher education institutions to provide a context of continuity and tradition in formal recognition of a change in leadership. Delegates representing more than 50 colleges and universities acknowledged the installation of Dr. Hass, including TCU chancellor Victor Boschini and Schreiner University president Tim Summerlin, who also welcomed Dr. Hass on behalf of the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities.  

Others providing welcome included members of the College’s student body, faculty, staff, and alumni; Judy Fletcher, executive of the Presbyterian Synod of the Sun; and State Representative Larry Phillips.  

The program also included College Chaplain John Williams and 2009 graduates Jonathan Hersh, a member of the Austin Teacher Program, and Keatan King, now studying at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, as well as Dallas Key, student body president, and Lisa Brown, associate professor of psychology and member of the Presidential Search Committee.  

The Austin College A Cappella Choir and Chorale performed during the ceremony.  

Austin College is a leading national independent liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas. Founded in 1849, making it the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original charter and name, the college is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA). Recognized nationally for academic excellence in the areas of international education, pre-professional training, and leadership studies, Austin College is one of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges that Change Lives.