On October 17th, 2025, Christian M. M. Brady was officially inaugurated as the 16th president of Wittenberg University.
The ceremony began with a prayer led by Rev. Cathy Schibler-Keegan and a welcome speech by William "Bill" Edwards, the chair for Wittenberg's Board of Directors.
Edwards acknowledged the challenges facing liberal arts colleges around the nation, adding, "Without question, we found our president in Christian Brady who personifies the innovative, faith-based, initiative-driven, leadership that Wittenberg needs to thrive in today's higher education landscape."
Most of the speakers at the inauguration were representatives of different communities and groups that wished to acknowledge and commemorate the new president. These groups included alumni, staff, faculty, students, the city of Springfield, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and Springfield's sister city in Germany, Lutherstadt Wittenberg.
The speeches were interspersed with hymnals sung by the people in attendance and a few performances by the Kenton Ridge Chamber Singers.
In a closing speech, Brady defined the liberal arts as an education that focuses on critical thinking and humanity. He also affirmed a need to be both grounded in the university's past as well as hopeful for its future.
"In the pursuit of all true knowledge, we find our calling: a distinctive and viable life-giving element of the Wittenberg experience," said Brady.
Following the ceremony was a dinner on the lawn outside the chapel.
