On Thursday, February 13, members of the Keck Graduate Institute community gathered at the Garrison Theater of The Claremont Colleges to formally invest Dr. Mohamed Abousalem as the third president of the Institute.
After Ross Grossman, chair of the KGI Board of Trustees, completed the formal investiture, President Abousalem provided remarks in which he expressed gratitude for the people who have played a role in his journey to becoming president and rallied the KGI community to elevate excellence together.
“I invite all our faculty, staff, students, alumni, partners, and friends to engage today with the KGI of tomorrow and help us take this great institution from its youth to maturity with intention and dedication,” said Abousalem. “Together, let’s embrace our future with enthusiasm, positivity, and intent. I am confident that our greatest accomplishments lie ahead, and I look forward to celebrating each and every one of them with you.”
President Abousalem joined KGI in July 2024. One of the oldest traditions in academia dating back to the Middle Ages, the word investiture comes from the Latin phrase for “dress in robe,” and typically occurs during a president’s first year at the institution. The investiture ceremony includes many academic traditions and protocols, and serves as an opportunity to bring the community together to welcome a new era.
The investiture ceremony also included the recognition of 10 faculty members who were named endowed professors.
Earlier in the week, President Abousalem moderated a Presidential Leadership Panel with three distinguished guests: Dr. Rosa Canet-Avilés, chief science officer for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Dr. David Morris, the vice chancellor of innovation ventures for University of California San Francisco, and Michelle Schroeder, a KGI trustee and vice president of R&D strategy and operations for Amgen. The engaging conversation about leadership in biosciences, biotechnology, pharma, R&D, innovation, and more.
Visit the Presidential Inauguration website to learn more about the week’s events and to watch the investiture ceremony.