Dr. C. Shane Hunt to be formally installed as Cameron University President on Sept. 9

Dr. Shane Hunt has been on the job for 10 weeks, but on Tuesday, it becomes "official" when he is formally installed as Cameron University's 18th president. An investiture ceremony will take place at 3 p.m. Sept. 9 in the University Theatre on Cameron's Lawton campus. The event is open to the public.

An investiture is filled with many of the same elements as a university's Commencement or Convocation, from faculty adorned in academic regalia to students carrying long banners representing each of the 16 academic departments on campus. In attendance will be presidents of other colleges and universities alongside past CU presidents. Its goal is to celebrate the university's academic mission, while simultaneously handing stewardship of Cameron to a new leader.

The highlight of the ceremony is the presentation to Hunt of key symbols of the presidency - a necklace bearing Cameron's seal and names of the 18 individuals who have served as president since the institution's founding in 1908, along with a mace symbolizing the joint leadership between the president and faculty.

Presiding over the ceremony will be former Oklahoma lieutenant governor Jari Askins, who served as interim president of Cameron while its governing board conducted the search for a new leader. Anita L. Holloway, chair of The Board of Regents for the University of Oklahoma, Cameron University and Rogers State University, will deliver the charge of office to Hunt, assisted by Oklahoma State Chancellor for Higher Education Sean Burrage. Also onstage will be OU Regents John R. Braught and Kenneth W. Waits.

One of those who will speak during the event is student Connor Holt, president of the CU Student Government Association.

"As student body president, I've had the opportunity to work directly with Dr. Hunt over the past few months," Holt said, "and I can definitely say that no one works harder for this university. He genuinely cares for students, faculty and staff."

Those sentiments were echoed by Dr. Edris Montalvo, chair of the CU Faculty Senate, who served on the presidential search committee. He was impressed by Hunt's eagerness to celebrate student and employee success.

"President Hunt has a sincere and genuine enthusiasm for Cameron and its students," said Montalvo. "While it's clear to all of us on campus that he's enthusiastic, his words and their meaning match that enthusiasm."

At the conclusion of the investiture, the new president and First Lady Jenifer Hunt will greet attendees during a barbecue picnic in the Fine Arts Courtyard, then head to the newly remodeled Aggie Gym to cheer the CU volleyball team as it hosts its first home-game of the season at 6 p.m.

Hunt was selected as Cameron's president on March 10 of this year and started his duties June 30. Before coming to CU, he served as Dean of the College of Business and Michael C. Ruettgers Professor of Marketing and Vice Provost for Entrepreneurship and Economic Innovation at Idaho State University. From 2007-2011, he was on the faculty of Arkansas State University, where he served as a professor and Dean of the College of Business.

A first-generation college student, Hunt holds bachelor's and master's degrees in business and marketing from OU, and a Ph.D. in marketing from Oklahoma State University. His research has appeared in a number of journals and he has co-authored a number of textbooks on sales and marketing.

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