Opening Ceremony

Wednesday, September 1st was the official start of the academic year at ULIM. The Opening Ceremony was held at the National Palace. This is a large concert hall, the largest theater in Moldova. The theater was filled with the incoming freshman students. The President of Moldova, the Rector of ULIM, all of the Deans -- and I! -- addressed the assembly. The Rector and the President's remarks were in Romanian. I was fortunate to be sitting next to one of the faculty members in the Law Department who translated their remarks for me.

Here are a few photos of the building and the stage. A journalism professor took many photos with his professional camera. I look forward to sharing those with you once I have copies.

It was an honor to be included in the speaking program, a sign of respect for the United States and the Fulbright Program.

It was also an honor to meet the President of Moldova, Mihai Ghimpu, who is the Chairman of the Parliament and Interim President of Moldova. He is also President of the Liberal Party.

For more information about the President of Moldova, see
http://www.presedinte.md/about.php?p=7&lang=rom

As I mentioned, there will be a constitutional referendum here on Sunday, which would address the issues with presidential selection in the current Constitution (that resulted in this interim situation) -- from selection by Parliament to direct election by the Moldovan people.