Note to Editors: Print and broadcast reporters are welcome to cover the academic procession and inauguration starting at 10:45 a.m. Reserved seating for  media will be available in Welte Auditorium. Best photo opportunities will occur between 12:15 and 12:45 p.m., when Chancellor Carter will be invested by the Governor and the Board officers.

HARTFORD, CONN. — On Friday, Oct. 20, Dr. David G. Carter Sr. will be invested as Chancellor of the Connecticut State University System, the largest system of higher education in the state of Connecticut. The inauguration will take place at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain.

The procession, which will include dignitaries and university representatives dressed in their formal academic regalia, will begin at 10:45 a.m. from Central’s Student Center. The formal inauguration will begin at 11 a.m. in Central’s Welte Auditorium. A reception will immediately follow the inauguration in Alumni Hall in the CCSU Student Center.

At the inauguration, a new CSU System mace and medallion — longstanding symbols of authority and responsibility in higher education — will be unveiled. Gov. M. Jodi Rell will lead the many state and national dignitaries attending and participating in the occasion. More than 1,000 guests are expected.

“This event is not only a celebration of the installation of Dr. Carter but also a time to commemorate the upcoming 25th anniversary of the CSU System,” said CSU Board Chair Lawrence McHugh. The CSU System includes Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, and Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven. Although the constituent universities each were founded more than a century ago, they officially were joined together as the Connecticut State University System in 1983.

Born in Dayton, Ohio, Carter faced and overcame many obstacles. When he was 5 years old, a fire destroyed his family’s business, an uninsured general store. Shortly thereafter, his father passed away, leaving his mother to raise Carter and his three older brothers. But through the support of his family and the guidance of sisters Ruth and Katherine Everett — schoolteachers who took Carter under their wings — Carter went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Central State University in Ohio, an M.Ed. degree in curriculum and supervision from Miami (Ohio) University, and a Ph.D. in educational development and educational administration from Ohio State University.

Carter’s successful career as a professional educator spans more than 41 years. Carter became the fifth president of Eastern Connecticut State University on April 2, 1988 — the first African American president of a four-year institution of higher education in Connecticut. Prior to assuming the presidency, Carter served as associate vice president for academic affairs, associate dean in the School of Education, and professor of educational administration at the University of Connecticut during an 11-year period there. Before joining the faculty at the University of Connecticut, he was an associate professor in the College of Education at Pennsylvania State University for four years. Previous to his career in higher education, Carter was an elementary school teacher, vice principal, principal, and unit facilitator (synonymous with area school superintendent) responsible for overseeing more than 20,000 elementary, middle and high school students in 24 Ohio schools.

Carter is active in national, state, and local organizations and agencies. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Eastern States Exposition and a past chair of its Connecticut Trustees. He is a member of the Executive Committee for the Connecticut Center for Science and Exploration. He is a founding member of the Millennium Leadership Initiative, has served as its co-chair, and currently is a member of its Steering Committee.

Among many awards for his contributions to higher education and to his community are the NAACP Roy Wilkins Civil Rights Award, the Outstanding Service and Leadership in Enhancing International Education Award, and the Americanism Award from the Connecticut American Legion. He also received the Tapestry Award from the Hartford Courant in 2002, and the Good Citizen Award from the Connecticut Grand Lodge, Order of the Sons of Italy in America in 2001. He was selected “Man of the Year” in 2000 by the African American Affairs Commission.

Carter succeeds Dr. William J. Cibes, Jr., who retired in February after having served as chancellor since 1994.

Directions to the event and additional inauguration information may be found on the inauguration pages of www.ctstateu.edu.

For more information, call the Office of University Relations at (203) 837-8486.