Leslie E. Wong to be invested as SF State's 13th president March 14

Ceremony part of a week of activities celebrating University's accomplishments, looking to future

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 28, 2013 -- Leslie E. Wong will be formally invested March 14 as San Francisco State University's 13th president in a ceremony witnessed by the campus community and distinguished guests from throughout the state.

The investiture celebrates a new era of leadership as the University looks to build on the accomplishments of recent years. The ceremony will begin with a colorful procession and musical performances and culminate with the presentation of the presidential medallion and President Wong's inaugural address.

  • WHAT: Investiture of President Leslie E. Wong
  • WHEN: 2­ – 4 p.m., Thursday, March 14
  • WHO: California State University Board of Trustees Chairman A. Robert Linscheid will preside over the ceremony, and, with CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White, formally invest President Wong with the office of president.
  • WHERE: McKenna Theatre, Creative Arts Building, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave., San Francisco

Following the opening procession, students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends will offer their congratulations to President Wong. Douglas Roberts, trustee emeritus at Northern Michigan University, will provide the keynote address. Associated Students, Inc. President Adenike Hamilton will join President Wong on stage, and student Christa Laosantos will sing the national anthem. The Alexander String Quartet, SF State's longtime quartet-in-residence, will perform along with the student performers of the Holloway String Quartet. Professor of Latina/Latino Studies and San Francisco Poet Laureate Alejandro Murguia will give a reading. Rev. Stephen A. Privett, president of the University of San Francisco, will provide an invocation.

President Wong's investiture is the focal point of a weeklong, campus-wide celebration. Other investiture week activities include:

  • "One Community" day of service, March 9
  • XLR8@SF State 5K Run/Walk, March 10
  • Symposium: Celebration of Faculty as Teacher-Scholars in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Education, March 11
  • Word for Word performance: "You Know When the Men Are Gone" by Siobhan Fallon, March 12
  • Lecture: "The Sutro Library: Mirror for Global California," by Kevin Starr, university professor and professor of history at University of Southern California, and California State Librarian Emeritus, March 13
  • Celebration dinner honoring President Wong and the 2013 class of the SF State Alumni Hall of Fame, March 15

President Wong began his tenure at SF State on Aug. 1, 2012. Prior to coming to SF State, he served for nine years as president of Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Mich. President Wong has also served in administrative and academic roles at Valley City State University in Valley City, N.D., University of Southern Colorado in Pueblo, Colo., The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash. and Pierce College in Tacoma, Wash. He holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from Gonzaga University, a master's degree in experimental psychology from Eastern Washington University and a Ph.D. in educational psychology from Washington State University. 

###

SF State is the only master's-level public university serving the counties of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin. The University enrolls nearly 30,000 students each year and offers nationally acclaimed programs in a range of fields -- from creative writing, cinema and biology to history, broadcast and electronic communication arts, theatre arts and ethnic studies. The University’s more than 212,000 graduates have contributed to the economic, cultural and civic fabric of San Francisco and beyond.