First ever investiture of chancellor set for Nov. 14

Dr. B. Alan Sugg, president of the University of Arkansas System, said the investiture ceremony at UA Fort Smith represents an important step in the institution`s progress. Symbols to be present during the ceremony will include the academic mace, which is the ceremonial staff of authority that administrators and faculty at universities around the world carry at the head of academic processions, and the chancellor`s medallion, which is a symbol of the office of the chancellor and is worn at ceremonial observances as part of the chancellor`s regalia. The mace at UA Fort Smith has the UA Fort Smith seal on its top. The four sides of the base include the previous names of the institution GÇö Fort Smith Junior College from 1928 to 1964, Westark Junior College from 1965 to 1971, Westark Community College, from 1972 to 1998, and Westark College from 1998 to 2001. The institution became a university and took the name of the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith in 2002 when it merged into the University of Arkansas System. Dr. Beran was selected as the new chancellor for the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith following a national search last spring. He came to Fort Smith from Alva, Okla., where he was president of the three-campus Northwestern Oklahoma State University. (Copyright 2006 Newsroom Solutions, LLC)