The last time that Jared Tice wore purple academic regalia was at his high school graduation ceremony. He donned the color once again on April 10, this time for his investiture as Capital University’s 18th president.
It’s been eight months since Capital University officially announced Tice as its next president. Tice officially began his tenure on Aug. 1, 2025, succeeding David Kaufman, who retired at the end of the academic year after five years as Capital’s president.
Investiture ceremonies are a significant milestone and time-honored tradition in the world of academia. An investiture is an academic ceremony during which a new president is “vested” with the official powers of office. It’s typically held during a president’s first year on the job.
The ceremony was equally reflective of Capital’s nearly 200-year history as a university, founded in 1830 as a Lutheran seminary, as well as focused on Tice’s vision for the next century.
Representatives from across the university praised Tice during the ceremony, with the phrases “rooted,” “centered” and “aligned” repeated multiple times by different speakers.
Steve Bahls, chair of Capital University’s Board of Trustees, said Tice is the embodiment of the mission in Micah 6:8, God’s call for humans to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly. Tice is committed to justice in making sure that Capital’s doors are open to all, shows mercy and kindness in his interactions with students, and seeks humility in leading the university, Bahls said.
Those qualities, speakers said, are needed as the university is facing an important time. Between threats of federal funding cuts, restrictive state legislation and questions about the value of a college education, there are many challenges facing university presidents today.
“Higher education is asked to do a lot right now,” said Bexley Mayor Ben Kessler, from preparing students for a rapidly changing future to being engines of engaging civic life.
Well aware of their challenges, speakers said they are confident in Tice’s ability to lead Capital into its next century.
“You are the leader we need in this moment,” said Sean Gorby, an associate professor of education representing Capital’s faculty.
Tice promised he would make Capital’s students his “life’s work,” saying he views his role “not as a prize but as a servant endeavor.”
Tice spent much of the last eight months talking with Capital’s trustees, faculty, staff, students, alumni and other stakeholders about the university. He said he heard how much people love Capital; he also heard from “people who love Capital enough to want more from it.”
What resonated with him, he said, was that people have a longing not only to preserve Capital’s history, but also to prolong it.
He said his conversations pointed him back to a quote by George Bernard Shaw: “You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say ‘Why not?'”
While Tice didn’t share specific strategic initiatives or flashy plans he wants to enact, he did share a vision for the university on the cusp of its historic anniversary that he titled, “Capital Rising.”
The vision is rooted in five pillars — not bureaucratic mandates, Tice said, but rather “shared promises” — that he said will guide Capital into its next era. Those pillars are purpose, people, pursuits, place and resources.
Tice likened the vision to a former Capital icon, “the big elm,” a towering tree that was a central meeting spot for students for more than a century. Though the tree was eventually cut down due to disease in the mid-20th century, its history was inspiring to Tice.
Like the big elm, Tice said Capital must be deeply rooted enough to grow, adapt and endure.
“What rises high must also reach deep,” Tice said.
Higher education reporter Sheridan Hendrix can be reached at shendrix@dispatch.com and on Signal at @sheridan.120. You can follow her on Instagram at @sheridanwrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Capital U President Jared Tice pitches ‘shared promises’ at investiture
Reporting by Sheridan Hendrix, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
