Mahony chooses a simple inauguration

Winthrop University President Dan Mahony has decided to forgo the pomp and circumstance of a traditional inauguration. Good for him.

Mahony announced Monday that he has decided against a “stand-alone” presidential investiture ceremony, which is customary at many schools when a new president comes aboard. Instead, Mahony’s installation will be just one part of the school’s May 7 commencement ceremonies at Winthrop Coliseum.

“Frankly, I would rather spend the money elsewhere and prefer to have people spend their time focused on other, more critical activities,” Mahony said. “We have a number of needs across the institution, and as I look at our list of priorities, an inauguration celebration ranks very low.”

His modesty in this case is welcome. Plus, we suspect that most people – including faculty, staff and students – would applaud the notion of devoting the time, money and effort that would have been expended on a fancy inauguration to something more practical.

Winthrop went through one of those elaborate affairs just last year. The weeklong investiture of President Jamie Williamson sometimes looked more like a coronation than an inauguration.

The university and the Winthrop Foundation, a nonpofit organization affiliated with the campus, spent tens of thousands of dollars on the week’s events. The investiture culminated in a lavish reception for Comstock that included hundreds of invited guests in Byrnes Auditorium. The list included scores of delegates from colleges across the nation.

Three months later, she was fired by the university’s Board of Trustees.

Mahony has nothing to worry about in that regard. He has been well received since taking over the reins at Winthrop in July.

He apparently is sincere in wanting to do without the trappings of a dress ball, opting instead to get the job done with a simple swearing-in ceremony. While seven of Winthrop’s 11 presidents opted for formal investitures, three others before Mahony chose the no-frills approach.

Again, good for Mahony. While there’s nothing wrong with a fitting ceremony, even an elaborate one, in the appropriate situations, Mahony’s recognition that Winthrop went all out on the Williamson affair and his desire to focus on other needs rather than mounting an extravagant party a year later are commendable.

This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 2:14 PM with the headline "Mahony chooses a simple inauguration."