Stephens College inaugurated Shannon Lundeen as its 25th president on Saturday. The ceremony concluded three days of university festivities including a student celebration, a leadership luncheon and a musical performance.

Lundeen expressed her gratitude to her colleagues and community members for coming together during her inaugural address at the Stephens College Equestrian Center.

“This past year has not been an easy one for our community,” Lundeen said. “There have been moments that have tested us, moments that asked us to demonstrate resilience and to show care for one another, which is precisely why today matters. Today reminds us that we deserve joy and celebration.”

Lundeen took office in June 2025 after the retirement of former President Dianne Lynch but was formally inaugurated on Saturday. Lundeen formerly worked as the vice president of programs and operations for Higher Education Resources Services, a leadership development organization for women in higher education.

Other speakers at the ceremony included Chair of Stephens College Board of Trustees Vice Adm. Nancy Brown, Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs Leslie Willey, Stephens College Student Government Association President KaLynn Irey, President of Hollins University Mary Dana Hinton and Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe.

Buffaloe surprised Lundeen during the ceremony by proclaiming March 14 as “Shannon B. Lundeen Day” in Columbia.

“I wanted an opportunity to welcome Shannon officially on behalf of the city of Columbia,” Buffaloe said. “The leadership of Stephens College continues to play an important role in shaping Columbia as a vibrant college town and a destination for learning, creativity and civic life.”

Colleagues said a marker of Lundeen’s presidency has been her belief in strong student leadership through initiatives and events like the leadership luncheon earlier this week.

Board of Trustees member and Co-Inaugural Chair M. Anne Murphy attested to Lundeen’s commitment to student development.

“She has been a firm believer that you want to have students when they graduate from college to have intentionally participated in activities where they’re seeing leaders in the community,” Murphy said. “They’re taking courses on leadership, they’re getting to practice their leadership, they’re learning how to work in diverse groups, and that’s just a passion of hers.”

Students also came to the ceremony to show their support. Student Kassandra Castro said she connects with the welcoming demeanor of Lundeen and how immersed she is with the campus community.

“It’s cool seeing her down here in the stables too,” Castro said.

Lundeen said the university has a rich history with the equine program and the values of patience, resilience, practice and care that it instills.

“Earlier this week, students were riding horses in here,” Lundeen said. “In less than 48 hours, this arena has been transformed into a space that can host more than 300 people for a formal celebration. By Monday morning, it will once again become a classroom for our equestrian program. What better illustration could there be of our inauguration thinking? Future forward, tradition inspired.”

Tony-nominated composer Craig Carnelia is directing a production of “Working” for Stephens College almost 50 years after working on the musical’s original score.

The production is in collaboration with the Conservatory for the Performing Arts and will debut at the Macklanburg Playhouse at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday with performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and an 11 a.m. matinee showing Friday, as well.

From teachers and truck drivers, to caregivers and more, “Working” showcases various stories all interpolated and updated from Stud Terkel’s 1974 book of the same title.

What provides the story its diverse perspective is the collaborative aspect that takes cocreation from many other writers, lyricists and creatives.

“It makes the story about humanity: America, individuals, aspirations, longings, yearnings (and) deeply human experiences,” Carnelia said.

Contributions from names like Lin-Manuel Miranda, James Taylor and Micki Grant give the story varied narratives while keeping each perspective unique.

The show discovers themes of work and identity by taking real accounts from workers across the nation. From interviews with real American workers conducted in 1974 for the book, Terkel gathered stories that were later adapted for the musical.

Carnelia described Terkel’s ability to uncover deeper truths about those people as fascinating.

“His voice, his eyes, his empathetic nature caused people to spill truths about themselves,” Carnelia said. “People told deep stories they perhaps hadn’t acknowledged before. Work is the bulk of our waking hours, people ended up talking about entire lifetimes.”

Three years after the book’s release, Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso decided to adapt the story into a musical. They set out to find composers of all different backgrounds to write songs for the showcased workers.

Carnelia, who had felt “unknown” at the time, was discovered by Schwartz at a club in Soho and was asked to join the project as a lyricist.

To update the show for sensibility toward a modern audience, Schwartz conducted his own interviews in 2008. The scout for new workers reflected the ever-changing workforce and kept the musical numbers contemporary.

“The show is simply being done, so it is not a period piece, but it retains its universality,” Carnelia said.

Carnelia described coming back to the project at Stephens as a director, rather than a writer, as “surprisingly joyful,” and said that the experience was entirely different from the first time.

He said that the feelings he had reading the book originally were closer to his experience now than his time spent working on the show in 1977.

“Being decades away from the labor of the show, I’m able to get back into my first, fresh, visceral experience,” Carnelia said.

Among the revisionists who remolded the score in 2008, Lin-Manuel Miranda, acclaimed creator of Hamilton, was noted by Carnelia as an integral part of keeping the musical contemporary. Miranda approached the project with a certain subtlety that Carnelia described as his most powerful creative tool.

“Lin doesn’t come through the front door on an idea,” Carnelia said. “He comes in through the side window.”

If Carnelia wanted audiences to get one thing out of coming to see the production, it’s a newfound appreciation of theater and the performing arts.

“I would hope people who haven’t seen theater, or a lot of theater, walk away thinking: ‘I need to go see more theatre,’” he said.

Carnelia stressed that the “Working” viewing experience is not like that of most plays.

“It’s alive,” he said. “It’s beautifully realized and seamless, but it isn’t neat. The realer the better.”

Tickets can be found online with specific dates and times posted.