CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WINA) – Jim Ryan took the oath of office and officially become president of the University of Virginia on Friday, October 19, 2018.

Students, faculty, administrators and community members gathered on the Lawn to witness the ceremony, as were Ryan’s wife, Katie, and their four children – Will, Sam, Ben and Phebe.

Ryan, formerly the dean of Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, was a first-generation college student, first attending Yale University, then UVA’s School of Law, both on scholarship.

During his speech, he outlined things he would like to see over the next decade, including one met with applause:

“I see a community that opens wide the door to opportunity for first-generation low and middle-income students. A community I’m delighted to say that, from this day forward, promises that Virginia families who earn less than $80,000 dollars annually, with typical assets, will be able to send their children to UVA tuition-free.”

Other highlights in his vision include growing a faculty “as diverse as it is oustanding,” and using interdisciplinary research to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges.

Ryan also acknowledged that the world is watching.

“I see, finally, a community that has been thrust into the national spotlight and refuses to shrink from it. A community that understands the extraordinary opportunity we have to light a path forward – not just for ourselves, but for a fractured nation and a divided world,” he said. “Because this is no longer just about us. It’s bigger than that. We have a chance to show the world what progress looks like.”