Macalester inaugurates first female, Latino president

Amid the skirl of bagpipes and the polyrhythms of African drums, Suzanne M. Rivera was inaugurated Saturday as Macalester College's 17th president and the first woman and Latino to lead one of Minnesota's most esteemed private colleges.

The ceremony at the St. Paul college, which included dance, poetry and peace prayers in four languages, was attended by students, faculty and dignitaries from across the region and nation, including keynote Fayneese Miller, president of Hamline University. Miller taught Rivera when Rivera was an undergraduate at Brown University.

"No step in my journey has been a solitary one, and I have a keen appreciation for what we can accomplish together in all of the circles and communities we seek and build," Rivera said, stressing the themes of critical inquiry, multidisciplinary engagement and togetherness despite differences as the world confronts global health challenges, social inequality, climate change and conflict. "In this chapter of Macalester's history, I want every member of our community to know and feel in their bones that they matter, that they deserve to be here, and that they belong."

Rivera, formerly vice president for research and technology development at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, succeeds Brian Rosenberg, who was credited with increasing diversity at the college, a goal Rivera has said she hopes to build on.

Rivera is the daughter of Cuban immigrants. Growing up, her family relied on food stamps and support from social workers. Rivera earned a bachelor's in American civilization from Brown University in Providence, R.I., in 1991, and a master's of social welfare from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1993. After beginning a career in academia, she earned a doctorate of philosophy in public affairs from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2008.

Rohan Preston and Anthony Lonetree