Southfield, Mich. -- Lewis N. Walker will be inaugurated as the sixth president of Lawrence Technological University on Thursday, Nov. 2.

Representatives from the community, professional organizations and dozens of colleges and universities will join faculty, students, staff and alumni for the 4 p.m. ceremony at the Don Ridler Field House.

Inauguration day culminates a week of events and begins with Walker delivering an informal address at a student luncheon in Café Lawrence from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. He will join faculty, staff and administrators at a reception in the Taubman Student Services Center’s Alumni Hall from 2-3 p.m.

The 4 p.m. inauguration ceremony will be followed by a reception at 6 p.m. in the Buell Management Building atrium. Tickets are $45 for the inauguration dinner that will begin at 7 p.m. in Café Lawrence.

Inauguration ceremonies typically take place within the first year after a new president has taken office. Walker was appointed president on July 1 after serving as interim president since February.

Walker’s appointment affirms Lawrence Tech’s current course of dynamic change that he has helped chart since he joined the university in 1994 as provost, the university’s chief academic officer. In 2003, he took on the additional role of executive vice president, adding oversight of student services and business activities.

“Dr. Walker has participated in, and in many cases led, a number of the advancements that have distinguished Lawrence Tech during the past 12 years,” Lloyd Reuss, chair of the Board of Trustees, said.

Under Walker’s leadership as provost, Lawrence Tech started its first doctorate program in 2001 and now offers four doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering, engineering in manufacturing systems, management in information technology and business administration.

Lawrence Tech has responded to the dramatic growth in life sciences by adding bachelor degrees in chemical biology and biomedical engineering. Inauguration week festivities include the grand openings of the university’s new life sciences and biomedical engineering labs.

Three degree programs introduced this fall further illustrate Lawrence Tech’s agility in responding to the changing global economy. The new master’s degree in mechatronic systems engineering, the first of its kind in Michigan and one of only a few in the entire country, combines aspects of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and computer science. The bachelor’s degree in media communications will prepare students for jobs in the rapidly evolving news and entertainment industry. A new minor in alternative energy engineering covers the full range of energy sources.

“These new programs are a direct response to the need to diversify and improve Michigan’s economy and take advantage of new opportunities in the global market,” Walker said. “Higher education has never been so vital to meeting the challenges we face as a state, region, nation and world.”

Walker holds three degrees from the University of Missouri-Columbia, including a Ph.D. in electrical engineering. A registered professional engineer, he was principal investigator or investigator of numerous research contracts and has organized and presented many short courses and seminars on power system protection and power system dispatch operations.

He came to Lawrence Tech from the University of Hartford, which he had joined in 1982 as dean of engineering and professor of electrical engineering. He has published more than 50 technical papers and has lectured in Brazil, India, Malaysia, Taiwan and several European countries.

A native of Missouri, Walker resides in Plymouth with his wife, Nancy. They have five children and three grandchildren. One of their sons is a Lawrence Tech alumnus.

Lawrence Technological University, www.ltu.edu, offers more than 60 undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degree programs in Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Management. Founded in 1932, the 5,000-student, private university pioneered evening classes nearly 75 years ago, and today has a growing number of weekend and online programs. Lawrence Tech’s 125-acre campus is in Southfield, with education centers in Livonia, Clinton Township, Traverse City, and Petoskey. Lawrence Tech also offers programs with partner universities in Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Asia.

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