Richard L. Dunsworth, J.D., will be installed as the 25th president of University of the Ozarks during a special Inauguration Ceremony on Friday, April 11.

The Inauguration Ceremony will begin at 4 p.m. in the University’s Raymond Munger Memorial Chapel.

The ceremony is part of Inauguration Week, a five-day series of events to commemorate the installation of Dunsworth to lead the 180-year-old, private, Presbyterian-affiliated University. The inauguration is also being held in conjunction with the University’s Alumni Weekend, which is scheduled for April 10-12.

The theme for the inauguration is, “A Celebration of Students, Past, Present, and Future.” Among the events planned for the week include a concert for faculty, staff and students by Matthew West, the 2013 American Music Award’s Contemporary Inspirational Artist of the Year. Other events planned include a student picnic and bonfire, a special Inauguration Week Chapel Service, a luncheon honoring faculty and staff, and a dinner and reception for guests following the ceremony.

Dunsworth was selected by the U of O Board of Trustees as the college’s 25th president on Oct. 6, 2012, and began his presidential term in June 2013. He came to Ozarks from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, where he spent most of the past 22 years, serving most recently as interim president and vice president for enrollment. As vice president for enrollment at Millikin from 2004-2013, Dunsworth oversaw numerous departments, including academic development, admission, athletics, financial aid, institutional research, marketing, media relations, registrar, and student development.

A native of Colorado, Dunsworth earned a bachelor of arts in political science from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, becoming the first person in his family to obtain a college degree. He went on to earn a master’s degree in education in 1994 from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston and a juris doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2002.