The new interim president of Gallaudet University, Dr. Robert R. Davila, was officially installed into office yesterday afternoon in an open ceremony at the school’s Field House. It’s unusual to have a formal ceremony to install an interim president, but we can all understand why the university chose to hold one. As you’ll recall, last year Gallaudet’s campus was taken over by student protestors upset with the appointment of Jane Fernandes as university president. While the precise reasons why the students opposed Fernandes were somewhat unclear — some thought her management style was too brusque and dismissive, others believed she wasn’t a “true” member of the deaf culture — they eventually got what they were looking for after weeks of preventing normal business from occuring on the Northeast campus. The Gallaudet board terminated the appointment of Fernandes, and slowly, life moved on at the nation’s premier university for the deaf.

The choice of Davila, a graduate of Gallaudet and a respected administrator, was received well from the beginning even though his tenure will be a short one. You can tell after watching the installation ceremony online that the Gallaudet community used this ceremony as a way to mark the school having moved on from last year’s turmoil. Not once was Davila referred to as an “interim” president, but rather as the 9th president of Gallaudet.

So congratulations to President Davila and the Gallaudet community. After a year of such tension and controversy, it must feel pretty good to have your school back to being what it ought to be — a supportive institution of higher learning. Plus, we think it’s pretty awesome that you’ve got a president who vlogs.