Diana Sidorevich

Attendees stand for the national anthem.

The Utica community braced the sprinkling rain to gather at the Charles A. Gaetano Stadium for President Todd Pfannestiel’s inauguration ceremony on Friday, Sept. 29. Students, athletic teams and alumni filled the bleachers and the rain let up before the procession began. 

When it was Pfannestiel’s turn to walk to the stage, he pointed to the students, eliciting louder cheers and applause. 

He shared a message of renewal, optimism and fun.

Political science student Kyle Mitchell said what stood out most was the energy of the student body. They cheered several times during Pfannestiel’s speech. One instance was when he addressed his wife Dr. Aimee Zellers.

“Truly we are one old soul inhabiting two individuals and I so enjoy watching you far exceed any accomplishment that I will ever have in my career as you continue yours,” Pfannestiel said.

The girls in the crowd cheered louder at that moment.

Psychology-child life major Ella Ortiz said it was the most memorable part of the ceremony.

“I thought it was so sweet, how genuinely he cared about everybody, and his compassion,” Otriz said. “He cares.”

Of all of the scholars and saints Pfannestiel could have chosen to quote to describe his relationship with his wife, he chose Winnie the Pooh. 

“If we live to be a hundred years old, I hope I live only to be a hundred years minus one day, so I’d never have to experience the world without you,” Pfannestiel quoted, prompting a kiss from his wife who sat on the stage. 

Again the student body cheered.

Nursing major Kalista Betz said the Winnie the Pooh speech and the “lovey stuff” stood out. Betz said she was proud to have attended the inauguration of one of the ten presidents that Utica has had. 

For cybersecurity major Terry Kirabo-Nagginda, the inauguration ceremony of the tenth president was momentous and hearing about some of the historical elements was interesting as well.

“It was a great ceremony. It’s the first time I see something of that sort,” Kirabo-Nagginda said. 

Pfannenstiel expressed gratitude towards those who have been a part of his journey until now, from his parents and sister, Interim Provost Stephanie Nesbitt and the leadership team, the Board of Trustees and institutional delegates and guests, to the facilities crew and Sodexo. 

“You could tell he was very grateful to be here, you could tell he was grateful to be the new president,” Kirabo-Nagginda said. “He’s excited so I like the excitement. It’s definitely a good opening to homecoming.” 

Kiarbo-Nagginda’s takeaway from Pfannestiel’s speech was to use “the inner compass in your heart to forge your path.” 

In an attempt to define perfection for the institution, Pfannestiel said it lies in the paths we physically walk and the paths along which we stride. 

“It is in the perfect journey that we undertake as much as we might incorrectly assume that it’s in the destination to which we arrive,” Pfannestiel said. “Our perfection at Utica University is not a static goal or achievement. It’s all about the path. It’s about the journey.”

Class of 2016 alumnus Shawtay Thompson said addressing the students on this path was brilliant.

“That was something that I would love to hear when I was a freshman or on my path starting out, to know that the journey is going to have a lot of twists and turns but it’s okay, because you’re going to end up exactly where you need to be,” Thompson said.

The president’s address to the student body impacted business management student Stefania Grimaldi. The story he shared about speaking up to his history professor stuck with her the most, “because he wouldn’t be here today without speaking up.”

Pfannestiel’s addressed each attendant of the ceremony in some way, and to David Palmer from the class of 1996, the president seemed very genuine.

“There weren’t a lot of platitudes,” Palmer said. “He was just speaking very from the heart, being genuine and sincere. Sincerity is really the main thing that I was getting from that.”

The speech was uplifting and personified what a lot of the alumni who are still involved with the college are feeling, said Harry Keel, a golden alumnus from the class of 1973. 

He attended the ceremony because to him, the Utica community is almost like a “brotherhood of friends and family too.”

After the last speech, “I Gotta Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas blasted through the speakers and the students stood cheering for the last time that afternoon. 

“I think the university has so much to look forward to going forward,” Mitchell said. “Ultimately the song in the end, that was just a ball.”