Harvard President Larry Bacow will be officially installed as Harvard’s 29th president on Friday afternoon, with a formal inauguration ceremony followed by a festive block party.
To celebrate, the Harvard Art Museums and the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture will offer free admission on Friday. The Harvard University Archives will have an exhibit featuring the various historic insignia presented to Bacow as part of his installation, including the Harvard Charter of 1650, College Book 1, the oldest surviving record book with entries dating to the 17th century, the Harvard seals of 1843 and 1885, and ceremonial keys made in 1846.
Widener Library is offering tours and an exhibit focusing on highlights from its special collections and archives, while Houghton Library is offering tours of items from its rare book and manuscript collection, as well as of its literary-themed rooms dedicated to Emily Dickinson, Amy Lowell, John Keats, and Samuel Johnson.
The inauguration ceremony itself, which is open to the Harvard community and invited guests, will include government and community leaders, delegates from universities across the country and around the world, and colleagues and friends of the president. It will begin at 2 p.m. with an academic procession into Tercentenary Theatre in Harvard Yard.
The procession will be followed by the installation, which will involve Bacow’s four immediate predecessors as Harvard president — Drew Faust, Larry Summers, Neil Rudenstine, and Derek Bok — as well as Bill Lee, senior fellow of the Harvard Corporation, and Susan Carney, president of the Board of Overseers.