Texas A&M hosted the Investiture of Mark A. Welsh III in Rudder Auditorium on Oct. 25, marking the formal installation of the university’s 27th president.

The ceremony featured A&M’s largest figures — from Chancellor John Sharp to Speaker of the Faculty Senate Angie Hill Price — and an auditorium filled with faculty and staff, including appearances from members of the A&M System Board of Regents and presidents from other universities.

Welsh spoke about his plans and vision for the university while thanking attendees throughout the event.

“If you don’t show up, you’ll never feel A&M,” Welsh said. “And if you don’t feel A&M, you’re cheating yourself because, for 148 years now, there’s been something magic here on the Brazos. We should embrace it. I see Texas A&M as the place where everything — literally everything — is possible.”

After hundreds of faculty members dressed in academic regalia matched into the Rudder Theatre Complex, the roughly hour-long ceremony began with a speech from A&M’s Student Body President Cade Coppinger.

“Today’s a very historic moment in Texas A&M’s history, as we are able to reflect on the past, the present and the future all in one occasion,” Coppinger said. “To students, President Welsh represents a servant leader, an advocate and a friend. I had multiple students, before meeting President Welsh, that had told me that he had this rare ability to make them feel like they were the only person in the room.”

Confirmed officially by the Board of Regents last year, Welsh stepped into the role after a tumultuous summer that saw national scrutiny and the former president’s resignation. Since then, he has pursued new initiatives and reversed several changes faculty, staff and students disagreed with, such as centralization policies.

“I would like to speak for students by saying we are thrilled to have you as president,” Coppinger said.

Following a presentation of colors by the Corps of Cadets Color Guard and the singing of the national anthem by the Singing Cadets, Century Singers and Women’s Chorus, the Corps of Cadets Chaplain Olivia Pace led a prayer before turning the stage over to Executive Vice President and Provost Alan Sams.

“Investitures trace their origins to the dignified ceremonial rights of knighthood, where honor and responsibility were conferred upon distinguished individuals,” Sams said. “Today, we formally bestow upon our new president the authority and symbols of leadership.”

Sams then introduced Representative Michael McCaul, the current chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. McCaul said his wife and three children are all Aggies, and his father-in-law was a chairman of the Board of Regents.

“I knew we would hit it off when I walked into his office, and I saw a drawing — a sketch — of a bombardier from a B-17 in World War II, for that is what my father did in World War II — the greatest generation,” McCaul said. “As his father fought the Nazis, so did mine.”

McCaul brought out a framed resolution he introduced to Congress congratulating Welsh before reading segments to the audience.

He praised Welsh’s four decades of experience in the U.S. Air Force, where he served as a combat pilot during Operation Desert Storm before rising to a four-star general. He also served as associate director of military affairs at the Central Intelligence Agency and the commandant of the United States Air Force Academy.

Following his retirement in 2016, he became the dean of the Bush School of Government and Public Service before his permanent appointment to president in December of 2023.

“I can think of no better-qualified man or individual to serve this university as its president,” McCaul said.

He presented the resolution to Welsh, and Angie Hill Price, the speaker of the Faculty Senate, took the stand. Representing over 4,300 faculty, she congratulated Welsh for the investiture.

“The faculty are committed to working beside you through shared governance to advance [the] university’s research mission, protect academic freedom across its campuses and enhance students’ academic experience,” Price said.

Bill Mahomes, the Board of Regents chairman, said he was honored to represent the System and formally welcome Welsh as president.

“General Welsh became president at a time when great leadership was needed,” Mahomes said. “He turned out to be the perfect person for the job. From day one, he moved decisively to earn the trust and respect of the faculty, staff, students and former students alike and began the demanding work of advancing the university’s mission and stature.”

Given his longstanding reputation as dean of the Bush School and in the Air Force, Mahomes said he wasn’t surprised at his success.

“If you doubt his Aggie credentials for a second or just want to learn more about this remarkable man, I encourage you to go on YouTube and find his 2022 Muster speech,” Mahomes said. “And try not to choke up when you watch him saying, among other things, ‘Thank God my father was an Aggie.’”

Representing nearly 8,500 staff members, Kat McLelland, chairperson of the University Staff Council, introduced A&M System Chancellor John Sharp, who presented Welsh with the presidential medallion. The medal is a tradition that signifies the trust placed in the institution’s new leader and can only be bestowed by the chancellor to the new president at their inauguration.

“It is the symbol of the responsbility to inspire, mentor and serve the students of this insitution,” Sharp said.

Welsh’s daughter, Liz Beechinor, followed, and she spoke about his personal life — including his love for the Reagan family from the television show “Blue Bloods” and the fact that he “does, in fact, own crocs.”

“My dad’s greatest quality is not his goofy relatability or his public speaking prowess,” Beechinor said. “It’s not even his unshakeable integrity. His greatest quality is that he is one of very few leaders who actually models how he wants people to treat each other.”

Welsh took the stage directly after and thanked the attendees, previous speakers, the organizers and his family.

“When the idea of an investiture ceremony was first proposed to me, I gave it a pretty flat no,” Welsh said.

But after further research and some push from his team, he eventually came around to the ceremony. One reason was that it bestowed a title upon him, something he viewed as a challenge. To Welsh, it is an opportunity to earn faculty trust, staff confidence and student respect, he said.

“Accepting that challenge publicly holds me accountable,” Welsh said. “And I do believe in accountability.”

He continued by praising A&M’s thousands of faculty members and roughly 8,500 staff.

“Our staff is part of the DNA of this place,” Welsh said. “ … their stubborn insistence that every struggling student is worth saving and their loyalty to this institution, and to each other, even on the toughest days, is inspirational. In so many ways, their support for students gives our campus its identity.”

Welsh said the nearly 80,000 Aggies now on campus come not only to learn but also to serve, specifically mentioning Big Event, the largest, student-run volunteer event in the nation.

“I see Texas A&M as a place where everyone feels valued,” Welsh said. “Where everyone has a voice and feels comfortable using it. A place where no one needs to read our core values because you see and hear them everywhere you go on campus. I see an A&M where all of us embrace the spirit of Aggieland — where we all show up at those events that connect us with the magic of tradition, history and heritage that our university offers.”

Staying at the forefront will require expertise, commitment and “a collective belief that a rising tide actually does lift all boats.” He sees A&M becoming a lead national security school producing service-minded individuals with an annual security forum that addresses issues impacting Texas and the nation — such as resource shortages, biosecurity, cybersecurity, space policy and more.

When discussing future plans, Welsh spoke about the university’s capacity study — research on how to handle A&M’s continued growth — and the student experience study, the student perspective on the same issue.

“We need to rightsize our campus in all the ways that support our multiple activities for an 80,000 student body,” Welsh said. “It’s different than what it was built for.”

He said he received the final versions of both studies and an academic roadmap aiming to improve underdeveloped areas of campus. After a week or two of review, he will decide which recommendations to adopt.

“There’s some big issues we will have to consider,” Welsh said. “How much funding should we put against critically needed faculty shortfalls in STEM and engineering departments, where we’ve grown the student population 44% and 75%, respectively, over the last 10 years?”

As an example, Welsh said balancing that against other funding priorities — such as West Campus improvements and maintaining the research enterprise — are difficult but vital decisions that must be made in the coming weeks.

“We’ve got some work to do and some real tough conversations to have,” Welsh said. “The good news is that we now have the data to see the problems more clearly, and we have recommended solutions that give us a starting point for those discussions.”

Importantly, the university’s leadership — from department heads to Welsh himself — must maintain communication and ensure faculty, staff and students are aware of decisions that impact them for the initiative to succeed, he said.

“Texas A&M should be the model for shared governance, for corporate communication and the educational context and for transparent decision making,” Welsh said. “Anything less than that is a cop-out.”

To conclude, Welsh returned the conversation to his family and father, who lived in the Rio Grande Valley selling cabbage for $2 per ton.

“To him, Texas A&M was a shining city on a hill,” Welsh said. “And because he saw it that way, so did we. I still do. Serving as president of this university is an incredible privilege, and it’s a sobering challenge. I accept both.”

A teary-eyed Welsh thanked the audience and returned to his seat. The Singing Cadets ended the ceremony by singing “The Spirit of Aggieland,” and Welsh alongside the roughly two dozen representatives sitting around him walked off the stage to the “Star Wars” song “The Throne Room and End Title.”