It's Inauguration Day at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens.
Despite being at the helm for more than six months, David A. Armstrong will officially be installed as the school's 10th President this afternoon after the Archbishop of Miami oversees his taking the Oath of Fidelity.
Armstrong says the Archbishop chose the date, but he's more than okay with the long wait. In fact, "The timing's perfect because I've gotten to know the University, got to know the people, know the area."
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Armstrong says in his first seven-and-a-half-months he's overseen the ground breaking of a new business school, the appointment of the first woman of color to serve as its law school dean and the launching of a football program which debuts next season.
He acknowledges he hasn't been able to meet with all of the employee for a half hour, like he had hoped, but he plans to have that goal met by the end of the year.
As he looks ahead to his next six months and beyond he believes his biggest challenge will be being fiscally responsible while giving students a return on investment.
He will be instituting a policy that will, "make internships, co-ops, service learning, study abroad and apprenticeships a requirement for graduation. So the students will have the intelligence in their major, have the acumens, but then they're going to have the real world experience before they graduate."
As for the football program, Armstrong says they've already signed about 140 recruits.
The week-long inaugural events wrap up on Saturday, but not before Armstrong attends two formal student balls, a beach bash, two St. Thomas baseball games and a presidential leadership reception.