Markwood formally inaugurated as CSU president

Ten months after he took the job, Christopher Markwood formally was inaugurated as Columbus State University’s fifth president on Thursday.

The ceremony, known as “investiture,” was held in the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, where a host of local dignitaries welcomed Markwood and congratulated him on the achievement.

Speakers praised Markwood for his involvement in the community and his enthusiasm and candor with faculty and students. Student Government Association President Tyler Davidson spoke of how the president regularly interacts with students, posing for “selfies” with them on campus.

“Dr. Markwood even after an SGA forum took open questions, unscripted, whatever the students had to ask, and gave them an honest, straightforward answer, so the students know that they can trust Dr. Markwood,” Davidson said.

Markwood in his remarks pledged to continue the progress the university has made since it started as a junior college in an old mill building in 1958, when it had only 15 faculty and 300 students. Today the college has nearly 9,000 students and an alumni association of 35,000 members.

“As we continue to move forward, evolve and change, we will forever remember and celebrate from whence we came, how we got here, and the people who helped pave the way,” Markwood said.

Once called Columbus College, the school was named Columbus State University in 1996.

A native Texan, Markwood earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo., and master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Missouri in Columbia. He has taught at those schools and at the University of Central Oklahoma, where he was named the first dean of the school’s newly created College of Arts, Media and Design.

He served as interim chancellor for the University of Wisconsin in Superior and until 2014 was provost and vice president of academic affairs at Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi. He came to CSU on June 1, 2015.

He succeeded CSU President Timothy Mescon, who served from 2008 until 2014. Previous presidents were Frank Brown (1988-2008), Francis Brooke (1980-1987) and Thomas Whitley (1958-1979).

This story was originally published March 31, 2016 at 7:09 PM with the headline "Markwood formally inaugurated as CSU president."