David Belcher will be installed as chancellor of Western Carolina University during a traditional ceremony, capping a week of activities in late March designed to highlight and celebrate the accomplishments of the university’s students, faculty, staff, alumni and community partners.

Thomas W. Ross, president of the University of North Carolina system, will preside at the installation ceremony, scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Thursday, March 29, in the Liston B. Ramsey Regional Activity Center.

The installation ceremony is the traditional academic ritual at which the chancellor takes the oath of office. The event is typically attended by UNC system officials, state legislators and other elected state and federal officials, academic delegates from other institutions across the nation and around the world, representatives of professional organizations and honor societies, and members of the campus and surrounding communities.