Neiduski, Wartburg's 18th president, to be inaugurated Oct. 14
Waverly, IA (10/07/2022) — Rebecca Neiduski will be inaugurated as the 18th president of Wartburg College at 2:30 p.m. Oct. 14 as part of the college's Homecoming & Family Weekend celebration.
Doors to Neumann Auditorium will open to the public at 1:45 p.m. with a preludial concert provided by Wartburg Department of Music professors. Those who are unable to attend can watch the ceremony on Knight Vision at www.wartburg.edu/knightvision. A celebratory reception will be held on central campus at the conclusion of the ceremony.
As part of the inauguration celebration, the college is collecting gloves of all kinds to honor Neiduski's roots in occupational and hand therapy. All types of gloves - winter, sports, safety, etc. - are being accepted. Drop off locations are in the Wartburg-Waverly Sports & Wellness Center, near the Info Desk in the Saemann Student Center and outside the Konditorei on the Wartburg campus. Additional collection points are at St. Paul's Lutheran Church and School, the Waverly Public Library and the Waverly Chamber of Commerce. Gloves also will be accepted prior to the ceremony.
Monetary donations also are accepted at www.wartburg.edu/inauguration. The college has partnered with the United Way to deliver the gloves locally, and some will be distributed at locations served by students participating in the college's student-run Service Trips program.
Neiduski served as the dean of the School of Health Science at Elon University before coming to Wartburg. As a hand therapist, Neiduski is an international expert in flexor tendon rehabilitation. She has offered many lectures, courses and keynote addresses on best practices for this complex diagnosis and has authored multiple peer-reviewed publications and book chapters.
She also is known for her commitment to global health equity, including both sustainable humanitarian work and education of health care providers around the world. She has been honored with both the Nathalie Barr Lectureship Award and the Paull Brand Award for Professional Excellence from the American Society of Hand Therapists.
Neiduski also sits on the board of directors for the Guatemala Healing Hands Foundation. The organization completes significant fundraising so that its highly specialized team of surgeons, therapists, anesthesiologists, nurses and volunteers can provide comprehensive training and education to providers and students and screen more than 200 children with traumatic injuries and congenital limb differences in Guatemala. Neiduski will make her 19th trip with the organization this fall.
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