EMU formally inaugurates President Dycus in historic investiture ceremony
Beginning at the 10th hour of the 10th day of the 10th month of EMU’s 110th year, an investiture ceremony in Yoder Arena on Saturday formally inaugurated the Rev. Dr. Shannon W. Dycus as the university’s 10th president and first Black president.
Among those gathered were members of the EMU Board of Trustees, three presidents emeriti, university and community leaders, members of Dr. Dycus’ sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Inc., and delegates representing 30 institutions of learning and faith.
The Rev. Jane Hoober Peifer ’74, MDiv ’97, chair of the EMU Board of Trustees, reflected on the journey that brought Dr. Dycus to the presidency.
“How grateful we are to God for bringing Dr. Dycus to EMU seven years ago,” she said. “Preparing her and us, even though none of us knew it at the time. Preparing all of us for this milestone dedication and celebration in the life of our beloved school. … This is a momentous day.”
The Rev. Glen Guyton, executive director of Mennonite Church USA, delivered the invocation. Harrisonburg Mayor Deanna Reed, who in 2016 became the first Black woman elected to City Council and to serve as mayor, reflected on the history being made on Saturday.
“Think of the young Black girls who will see you, Shannon, and say, ‘She looks like me,’ or ‘I can do that, too,’” Reed said. “They will see your leadership, your faith, and your courage and imagine new possibilities for their own lives. Shannon, you have earned this moment.”
Dr. Dycus, who joined EMU as dean of students in 2019, held several leadership positions in student affairs before becoming interim president in July 2025. She began her five-year term as the university’s 10th president on July 1, 2026.
The Rev. Dr. Charisse Gillet, president of Lexington Theological Seminary, offered her greetings to the EMU community. “Today, we honor a leader formed at the vital intersection of church and academy, a minister and an educator whose vocation has been shaped by faith, learning, and service,” she said. “…From these communities she has learned not only how to belong, but how to create belonging for others. … You have a leader who joins theological hope with clear-eyed pragmatism.”
Delivering the campus greetings were Student Government Association Co-Presidents Esme King Martin and Davis Bert, Staff Senate Co-President Nicole Litwiller ’19, MA ’20, and Faculty Senate Co-Presidents Dr. Heike Peckruhn MA ’04 and Dr. Paul Yoder ’06, MA ’11. Board member Dr. Stephen Kriss ’94 gave the charge to the president and Dr. Rebecca Stoltzfus, president of Goshen College, gave the charge to the EMU community.
Dr. Dycus also is the first woman of color to lead any Anabaptist-founded college or university in the United States, Stoltzfus said.
“I speak on behalf of all five of the presidents of your Mennonite Church USA higher education colleagues,” she said. “We feel deeply blessed to work with President Dycus as our new colleague. When she speaks, we listen.”
Dr. David Berry, associate professor of music, performed a musical selection. The Rev. Charles Webb offered a prayer of dedication and blessing.
In her presidential address, “Together and Becoming: Moving in Formation,” Dr. Dycus recounted her first experiences of the Shenandoah Valley. Nearly a decade ago, while on sabbatical from pastoring at First Mennonite Church in Indianapolis, she enrolled at a spiritual direction program at Eastern Mennonite Seminary in the summer of 2017. She had never driven through mountains and remembered feeling both awe and fear.
As she gripped the steering wheel and navigated the winding mountain roads along U.S. 33, wondering whether to turn back, she spotted a flock of birds flying overhead. They flew in formation, heading in the same direction she was, as if guiding her forward.
“I couldn’t have known that the road toward a spiritual direction program would eventually lead me here, to this university, to this community, and now the privilege of serving as its 10th president,” she said. “I certainly didn’t imagine standing here today, but when I think about EMU now, I still feel something of what I felt during that first drive into Harrisonburg: awe and gratitude.”
Reflecting on the stories and people that have shaped EMU, its strengths and challenges, and the students who discover their gifts and callings here, Dr. Dycus called on the community to consider what faithfulness will require of them.
“Sometimes the road turns in ways you can’t see,” she said. “There will be turns ahead for us. When those moments come and when we find ourselves gripping the wheel, wishing we could see farther ahead, look again at the mountains and the birds. The mountains remind us that we are rooted in a story that is carried across generations, and that flock reminds us that we can adjust the formation without losing the destination.”
Watch a recording of the ceremony below!
Join the Discussion on “‘A MOMENTOUS DAY’”