It’s official.

On Friday, as the endless procession of academic personnel marched to the French National Défilé, John Bardo’s inauguration as the 13th president of Wichita State began.

After the opening of ceremonies from Professor Robert Ross, ceremonial introductions and a few key speeches, Bardo accepted his oath of office with a simple “I will.”

In his inaugural address, Bardo spoke of the quality WSU had attained. However, as the theme of Ad Astra, or “to the stars,” suggests, Bardo spent much of his speech talking about how to move forward in making Wichita State an even better place to live and learn.

One of these key improvements would be the addition of the first new residence hall on campus since the 1960s, he said.

“These [current residence halls] were built at a time when students just used them to go to sleep. What we know today is that students live a lot of their lives in these residence halls, so we are rethinking the structure of them,” Bardo said.

This new residence hall would take the place of Brennan Hall and the Wheatshocker Apartments. Bardo also said that he would consider adding another dorm later if enrollment increases.

Vice President for Campus Life Wade Robinson supports building new residential housing.

“This is not an option,” he said. “This is a have-to for us. It’s what we need to do to support what he [Bardo] wants to do.”

Vice President of Finance for Student Ambassador Society Tyler Nepote said, “Lots of people ask why we only have two residence halls and why are they so old. I think [Bardo] has done an awesome job and has really taken a futuristic approach.”

Robinson said that the goal is to have the new housing open by August 2014 and located on a central part of campus. A specific site has not been identified.

Other additions Bardo talked about were to introduce a Residential Honors College for all majors, put $50,000 into a fund for mentored undergraduate research, and to add an office for technology transfer.

“It’s really key that we engage systematically in technology transfer. It’s key to take the product of your minds and get them out to the community to improve the quality of life and to improve this region’s global competitiveness,” he said.

Many students support the new president.

“He has done a great job. It’s all very fast-paced with quick deadlines,” president of Student Government Association Luis Carbajal said.

“[Bardo] has a great vision,” Anh Tran, College of Education associate professor, said.

The 13th inaugural ceremony was held at the Eugene M. Hughes Metropolitan Complex.

Key people in attendance included Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, Kansas Board of Regents chair Tim Emert, District judge of the United States District Court Eric F. Melgren, and former chancellor of North Carolina Central University Charlie Nelms.

Aliyah Richling sang the National Anthem, and the WSU, state of Kansas and U.S. flags were carried by Wichita Fire Department firefighters.