Bio information
Auburn University Board of Trustees announces the Installation Date for President Roberts
Auburn University’s Board of Trustees has announced that the formal installation of Auburn’s 21st president, Christopher B. Roberts, will take place at 3 p.m. CST on April 13, 2023.
Roberts, the former dean of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, began serving in the role of president on May 16, 2022 following the unanimous approval of the Board of Trustees and the retirement of his predecessor, Jay Gogue. The installation ceremony is a time-honored academic tradition in which Roberts will be ceremoniously recognized with the powers and responsibilities of office that were bestowed upon him as Auburn University’s 21st president by the Board of Trustees. Roberts will share his vision and aspirations for the university while also recognizing its great past and present accomplishments.
The installation will be held at the Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center, where seating will be open to the campus and surrounding community on a first-come, first-served basis. All attendees must register in advance. Registration opens on March 13. Tickets (required for entry) will be emailed the week of April 3. The Auburn Family is also invited to watch the proceeding virtually via a live broadcast that will be made available that day. As more details become available involving the installation and other related events, they will be shared on this site. Read more about the event
Meet Christopher B. Roberts
Christopher B. Roberts began his appointment as Auburn University’s 21st president in May 2022. President Roberts leads the university’s four divisions, including Auburn’s main campus with its more than 31,000 students and 5,500 faculty and staff, as well as Auburn University at Montgomery, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, a joint enterprise with Alabama A&M University. Roberts is an accomplished scholar who understands that research and teaching excellence, together with service and public engagement, are at the very heart of the state’s R1 land-, sea- and space-grant institution. As the university’s CEO, he marshals the institution’s $1.54 billion annual budget and vast resources, while spearheading the university’s strategic vision and advancing the Auburn’s ever-growing research enterprise and economic development. Read more about Dr. Roberts
Tradition of the Presidential Medallion
Auburn University’s Board of Trustees commissioned the Presidential Medallion in 1966 in preparation for the installation of President Harry M. Philpott (1965-1980). Crafted in gold from a design developed by a faculty-led committee, the medallion hangs from a collar that bears the name of each academic college.
The medallion depicts rays of varying lengths emanating from a classic lamp at the center to symbolize the light of knowledge traveling outward. Encircling the lamp at the center are words from William Butler Yeats: “Truth flourishes where the student’s lamp has shone.” The seal of Auburn University is engraved on the back of the medallion.
