 Welcome to the 2021 Presidential Inauguration, Lessons of the Past and Forming Our Future, presented by Purdue University. I am David Reingold, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and moderator for today's first session. Inauguration Day is a day of rituals and traditions that honors and recognizes the will of the people who have chosen their leader through free elections. It focuses on the peaceful transfer of power and the hallmark of a free democracy. I hope you'll join us throughout the day to learn more about Inauguration Day's significance today at the various moments in the U.S. history. All of today's sessions are live and will be posted here for later viewing. We begin with today's first session, Presenting and Reflecting on Presidential Inaugurations. Joining me are Professor Joel E. Barb, Senior Associate Dean in the College of Liberal Arts and Professor of Visual and Performing Arts with a specialty in theater costume design and history. And Capriccia Penovich Marshall, a 1986 political science alumna from Purdue. From 2009 to 2013, Capriccia served as Chief of Protocol of the United States. She oversaw six state and official visits, as in several inaugurations, and countless working visits, summits, and protocol arrangements during travel with the President and Secretary of State. So even before today, there's been a lot of Inauguration related activity. Capriccia, let's get us started off by talking about what's already happened before we get to the swearing in ceremony. And happy Inauguration Day to all of you. It is an honor to be joining you, Dean and Joel on this very special occasion, a returning alumna to the fabulous Purdue University. As you note, it has been a day, a week actually, full of activities. Already the President-Elect, we can't call him President until the clock strikes 12 today, has arrived to Washington, D.C. with the historic making Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris. They arrived last evening. There was a memorial, a moment, a somber moment that was held at the Lincoln Memorial, where the two of them spoke quite eloquently, quite emotionally, and lit 400 lanterns that represent the 400,000 plus lives that have been lost in the United States due to this pandemic. And so they wanted to honor those lives. They really wanted to set the tone for this Inauguration, which is America United. And then they made their way to the Blair House, which is the President's guest house. It's directly across the street from the White House and spent the night. I'm not sure how much they slept, but they were there with family, close family. And we just saw that they boarded their motorcade and made their way to St. Matthew's Basilica, which is famous for the funeral service of President Kennedy here in Washington, D.C. But they went there for a private service, a very small service with just a few elected officials, bipartisan, and some family members. And now they are preparing to make their way to the Capitol to take the oath of office. So thank you. And people are always wanna talk about what people are wearing at these events. And so Joel, how did that come to be? Well, sure. I can certainly speak to that. A lot of people might think that commentary on the clothing of political and public figures might be a bit of fluff and sort of superfluous, but actually it's an extremely effective way of communicating your values and communicating your brand. And so like it or not, clothing and image are very important and certainly important to government. It all really starts at least the way we look, especially at our First Ladies with Jacqueline Kennedy. Jacqueline Kennedy, oh, NASA's, for the point of our conversation, we'll talk about Jacqueline Kennedy. Before Kennedy's inauguration, First Ladies really just wore what they liked. They weren't necessarily thinking about what impact that would have. But Jacqueline Kennedy partnered with Ole Cassini, well-known designer and who sort of helped put her, if you will, on the map as a style icon. But it was all very purposeful and done in a very specific way with specific goals. Cassini was a Russian-Italian son of diplomats who after the Russian Revolution, his family went into the fashion industry. And that's where he started to learn. He eventually moved to the United States in apprentice with some of the best designers and then went into the motion picture industry. And so not only did he have a fashion background, but he had a background in motion pictures and television. And so a chance meeting with, at the time, newly wed Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy led to their long relationship. And so when he came to design for her, and what you're seeing right now is the sketch of the coat and dress underneath that she wore for Kennedy's inauguration. When he came to design for her, he really designed for her like a movie star. In other words, he knew that she would be seen in print, but he also knew that she would be seen in this new medium of television. And so how best to project an image of youth and vitality. Right now, political wives in Washington at the time, their sort of standard uniform was a floral dress underneath and a mink coat on top, sort of tight, permed hair and a small, tidy hat, which was perfectly appropriate for Mamie Eisenhower, who was the current First Lady at the time. But the Kennedys were trying to project a new image, a new image of youth, vitality and something fresh coming around the corner. So when Oleg Cassini designed this inauguration costume, he took all the information and knowledge that he had about how television worked and the movies and designed accordingly. So what you see is instead of a mink coat, you see a cloth coat and egalitarian cloth coat that anyone could find a version of in their local department store. And something that is notable, and we can go to that next image, Baron, is you're gonna see patch pockets. Patch pockets were kind of revolutionary for a woman's coat. Usually pockets were hidden in the seam or they didn't have pockets at all. Claire McCartle, who's the most famous designer you've never heard of, was an American designer who after World War II, realized that American women needed clothes that they could work in around the house and in the office, but also clothes that were practical and she's the one that introduced the idea of visible pockets. So putting pockets on this coat. And mind you, I don't think that Mrs. Kennedy put anything in those pockets, but the fact that they were there and they were visible and there's no fur on the coat except for around the collar and then she's got this very sort of wonderful fur muff. Now we're not gonna see fur used very often. It becomes unpopular as we know and not something that people want to feature, but at the time just this hint was enough. You'll notice she's also wearing a very famous pillbox hat. This was actually designed by Halston who'd become a very well-known designer in the 1970s. And you'll notice that she's not wearing it on top of her head, but in the back so it frames her face, so on. And the last thing I'll mention before I sort of get into how this affected future choices by the First Ladies is her hair. She'd actually connected with a well-known New York hairstylist, Mr. Leonard, what's his name? And he went on to soften up her hair, give us that classic Jackie Kennedy look and then again that's copied by everyone. I guess the last thing I'll say too is the color. You can't tell from these black and white photos because it was very purposely done. He wanted them to photograph as winter white which is how they look. They look like an off white, but actually the color of the real garment is grayish. Let's see that next picture, Barron. The color is sort of an oyster color that he knew would photograph as off white and so that's why he chose it. So here you can see President Kennedy, well at the time President-Elect Kennedy on his way to take the oath. And this is when presidents still wore morning suits. They still wore more formal garments. He's got on his top hat. He was the last president to wear a top hat to an inauguration. Basically there's actually books that say John Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy killed the hat because of the style of hair that they like to wear. So what does all this mean and what does it have to do with anything today? All First Ladies have had to gauge themselves against the styles trends that were set by Jacqueline Kennedy. First Ladies now have to decide, am I going to be like Jacqueline Kennedy or am I not? I mean, that's a choice they have to make. And what you're going to see, especially on an inauguration day is a repetition of that same motif of the cloth coat. If you look at Pat Nixon from 1973, and now this is 10 years later, but you're going to see that it's the same basic that she has a cloth coat underneath is a matching dress and there she has a fur collar. But we're going to see, I think that's the last time that we see fur with a First Lady. Now, if we skip forward to Nancy Reagan, and this is the first Reagan inauguration, which was a particularly warm day, but there you see there's Nancy Reagan and yet another combination of that cloth coat, matching dress and hat. Now, she brought back the hat, First Ladies had let the hat go. You can see Barbara Bush sitting next to her again in a cloth coat. And then if we go to, I've got the both of the Clinton inaugurations and Capricia, you can probably speak to these a little bit. The first inauguration, Hillary Clinton wore a hat. And I believe she is the last First Lady to wear a hat to an inauguration. And here she has selected, you know, it's a coordinating suit. I don't know if there was a coat that went with it, but maybe it was too warm on that day and Capricia's nodding her head. Yes. And then if you look at from inauguration two for the Clintons, and this is a great shot. You can see again, it's that same combination of cloth coat, matching dress, one sort of substantial piece of jewelry that was actually popularized by Madeleine Albright. Madeleine Albright had this one signature piece of jewelry, which was this very large eagle pin. And you'll know, a lot of Washington ladies have adopted that look. If you, Nancy Pelosi wears a pin that is a mace to represent her position. And so, and then the last, I think, oh, and then I will look quickly at Michelle Obama, her first inauguration. She wore, Isabel Toledo was a Cuban American designer. And so she selected, she tried to promote young designers, American designers. And so here again, matching dress and cloth coat, but it's a little more formal and a little more casual at the same time. Michelle Obama knew that she would be especially scrutinized. And so she worked very hard on the selection of her clothes. If you'll look at her second inauguration. Here she's wearing Tom Brown, which is an American designer. And what I love about this photo is you can see how they've coordinated the whole family. You can see the Obama daughters are picking up the purple that is in Michelle Obama's belt. She had purple gloves on earlier. She's wearing a J. Crew belt, which is another one of the hallmarks of her style is that she tried to use things that people could buy off the rack and have a bit of that Obama magic for themselves. But again, it's that same repeating motif that egalitarian cloth coat that anyone could go and buy, that sort of eschewing of the, what the mink coat represented at the time, pre-Kennedy. And then the last thing I wanna show is it's already started for Jill Biden. If you can show that purple suit that she wore yesterday for the event. The fashion reviewers and costume historians have already dissected this piece and it was just out yesterday. Some are saying it's purple because if you combine red and blue, the Republicans and the Democrats, you get this unified color of purple. Some people are saying it's the color, purple references, the suffragette flag and so on. And if you look at the, I have a photo of the vice president and the president with their spouses and you'll see that Kamala Harris has, there's no precedent for her. She is gonna forge her own way on what a female vice president will wear. You look this, everything you're seeing right now is very purposefully chosen. And that's the thing about clothing is that none of it is arbitrary, especially for political figures. And first ladies, second gentlemen, these are not elected positions. They are not appointed, but they are important to the way the administration will communicate their values. And so Kamala Harris in this amazing, all black outfit has already been referenced. Are we, is she referencing the uniform of the Black Panthers? With her camel coat, is she referencing pop figures like Pam Grier? I don't know that any of that is true, but if you don't have a meaning behind your clothing, people will assign one. And so you can't discount the importance of image, you can't discount the importance of clothing, especially as a new administration starts their tenure. So I'll leave it at that. Probably more than you've ever wanted to know about first lady fashions and the choices behind them. That's great. I was gonna kick it back over to Capricia and let her jump in here on what usually happens. Well, let me make the note. I too have my Anne Hand pin. Everyone in Washington, as you say, Joel, has the, an eagle pin. The traditional one is with the large pearl at the bottom, but this is a gift from my dear friend, Anne Hand, who has designed those very famous eagle pins. And I'll also note that it was, Hillary Clinton did have a matching coat that matched her hat on that day for her inauguration. And then she wore the exact same suit when she left the White House when the bushes arrived for their inauguration. But let me do as you asked here, David, and talk about what a typical inauguration day would look like, because this one is slightly different regrettably. The current sitting president for the next oh gosh, two more hours has made the decision not to attend the inauguration of Joe Biden. And this is rare. It has been about 150 years since a sitting president did not attend the inauguration of the incoming president. There is a lot of symbolism in this day, important symbolism in this day. Every one of these events are planned to project to the world the strength, the stability of our democracy. It is a bridge from one administration to the next. The seamless transition of power that we talk about. There should have been a coffee between the two first ladies that would have taken place all about a month ago at the invitation of Mrs. Trump to Dr. Jill Biden to take her on a tour of the White House and introduce her to some of the staff, even though Dr. Biden was pretty familiar with the place having served as second lady for eight years. But that did not take place. There should be this morning a coffee that was hosted by the current president, by President Trump and Mrs. Trump at the White House inviting the president-elect and Dr. Biden, the vice president-elect and Mr. Emhoff to the White House. And again, this is a really symbolic moment that we're missing out on this inauguration where the current invites the incoming to have really just 20 minutes of conversation. I was so incredibly honored to have served eight years in the Clinton administration and experienced the Clintons going into the White House and being greeted by President George H.W. Bush and Mrs. Barbara Bush. They could not have been more welcoming. Barbara Bush greeted Hillary Clinton for that private first lady's coffee with open arms, made some jokes on the south grounds and swept her into the White House. It was really a historic moment. And again, created a bridge between these two families, these two first families. And then when the Clintons had their time which they were finishing the eight years in the White House, they certainly hosted a coffee for incoming president-elect President Bush and vice president-elect Cheney. That was a difficult, a very difficult election if we'll recall between vice president Al Gore and then governor George Bush. The day I have to tell you was full of anticipation and tension in the White House. I was one of three people from the Clinton administration that was granted the opportunity to be in the White House that day, all other staff were required to leave the evening before. I assisted with all the logistics of arrivals and then worked with the Usher's office and the Butler staff on making sure that the guests were served and everyone knew what was expected of them. When the presidential inaugural committee, that's the committee that is selected by the incoming president. When they indicated to me that it was time for them to go, I made my rounds to the various principles and indicated that they needed to now load up into their motorcades, which they did. And then I was left with president Clinton and president elect Bush. And we were standing in the grand foyer. They were handed their overcoats, they put them on and this moment will stay with me forever because I think it is so symbolic of the greatness of our nation. President Clinton then reached over and put in his hands the shoulder of president elect Bush, kind of straightened his jacket and gave him a pat on the back. And he said, come on, let's go do this. And president elect Bush looked at him, he didn't say anything, but you could tell he was thinking, don't worry, I've got this. And in that moment, in that instant was the transition of power. Two men who had completely opposite philosophies, completely different ideals for how our country should be run. One handing the reins very surely over to the other, the other taking them and saying, I can move this forward. I am now the president of the United States. It was an extraordinary moment for me to have witnessed. And then the two of them made their way out to the motorcade and together in a car, very symbolic road to the capital for president elect Bush to take that oath of office. It just was a moment in our history for me that will stay with me forever. I then was able to make my way through the White House. And now what's most interesting is that during that coffee, that very short period of time, the president's Oval Office is being dismantled, the draperies are coming down, the sofas are being taken out, the carpets are being changed because now we are moving again symbolically from one president to the next. And president elect Bush had selected several items that would be temporarily put into place. And so right now, as President Trump has now left the White House, currently staff is busily at work dismantling president Trump's Oval Office, putting up new draperies, new sofas or temporary furniture that was selected by now president elect Biden. And as well, the entire West Wing is being changed. Some offices are being reconfigured for new space, being repurposed for the staff that will be coming in shortly. It all happens so quickly because at noon, as we said, as soon as president elect Biden raises his hand and takes the oath of office, those 35 words will actually 39, if they include those references to God, then they become the president, he becomes the president, and everything shifts on over into this new administration. I won't deny it's a question. Please jump in. So when you talk about the transition from one household to the other, I read recently when Laura Bush was making the move to the White House, of course she was very familiar with the White House having been there with her in-laws and her children being there with her grandparents. But she said she packed very light because she knew that there was this great warehouse of items that belong to the White House collection that she knew she could go and pull from to help furnish the residence. Have you ever been to that facility and can you talk about that a little bit? Oh, Joel, yes. It is an enormous facility. And from that facility is where president elect Biden will be selecting or he already selected items to put into his Oval Office. But yes, I've had the great honor of working with the White House Historical Association and with the wonderful Curator's Office. It's an extraordinary group of individuals who have dedicated their life to White House history and artifacts and anything that relates to presidents and presidential families. You go out to this facility, it is enormous, an enormous warehouse. And yes, Laura Bush, like many other first ladies are presented by the Curator's Office, usually occurs during that coffee. I'm sure that Dr. Biden received a binder of some sort, perhaps delivered to her in Delaware of where they can, they can page through these historic items and make certain selections. The president's desk in the Oval Office, it's usually the resolute desk that is selected by presidents, but they have the opportunity, the option to swap that out for something else. There may be some items, particular paintings, specific furnishings, antiquities that they want to be on display that may be representative of what this administration will stand for, or their particular taste and style that they'd like to choose. So I want to capricious stay with you for just a quick moment here and get your take on what people will be seeing in the hour leading up to the swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol. Well, it is, I've had the wonderful privilege of being on that grandstand just outside on the west side of the Capitol. And I was there with President Clinton for his second inauguration, his first inauguration. I was back in the White House helping prepare that changeover, but I was there for the second inauguration and then I was also there for President Obama's second inauguration as chief of protocol leading the foreign diplomatic corps because they are allowed to attend. They are represented on those steps representing the entire world, if you will. And so as a person who assists in shepherding the foreign diplomatic corps, I was there for that occasion as well. Today it will be considerably different. There are scant number of chairs that will be on the dais for the actual administration of the oath. And very, very few individuals that will be viewing from the Capitol grounds, they will have gone through major security checks, COVID testing, and will have been cleared by all the security. We have not seen and in due to the events that took place several weeks ago, there is an increased number of security around the Capitol, approximately 20,000 troops we are told will be there to protect and guard really to fend off anyone who has any bad ideas for today. And so the perimeter of the Capitol is really, really tight. You really can't get anywhere near the grounds that they have cordoned off. But on the dais itself will be the president-elect and his family with Dr. Biden and his children and his grandchildren. He has many, many, many. And along with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff and her sisters and nieces of which she considers like her daughters and they will all be in attendance with very few staff there as well, along with the leadership of our Congress. He wanted to make sure that every member was invited, even those who didn't particularly have an interest in voting for his election and affirming his election, everyone was invited. And from what I understand, they are actually all attending. I think that's another very important symbol today to show the unity because today is not a day of political parties. Today is a day that we celebrate the leader of our country and the leader of the free world. Also on stage will be Lady Gaga who will sing our national anthem and Jennifer Lopez who will be singing a few songs. That will be really exciting. And once the entire program concludes, they will make their way through the Capitol. There's usually a luncheon that is hosted by the speaker and regrettably due to COVID restrictions, they are foregoing this tradition. And instead they will make their way onto the other side of the Capitol. There will be a reviewing of the troops as is the usual custom. And then they will make their way to Arlington Cemetery. And this is a new custom, if you will. It will be in attendance with the former presidents and first ladies and they will lay a, and so in attendance will be President George Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush. It will be President Obama and Mrs. Michelle Obama and it will be President Clinton and Secretary Hillary Clinton. And they will lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier. And then the Bidens will return to the White House via an abbreviated parade. There will be a, there's usually almost a parade of two miles between the Capitol and the White House. Thongs of individuals on the streets. I have experienced that. You couldn't even make your way to Pennsylvania Avenue. It was so tight with people. Just wonderful, I recall, both the Clinton and the Obama administrations. Just a lot of joy, celebration. You couldn't get a restaurant reservation. It was a really great time. But today's will be a little different. Certainly due to the pandemic and the recent security concerns. But they will still have the military parade and then they will make their way into the White House to prepare for the viewing of the inaugural balls. Involved in determining the seating arrangements for some of the guests on the Capitol. Oh, well, let me tell you that being chief of protocol for as many years as I was and eight years as social secretary, you'll learn a little bit about seating and the priorities and the interests. Now, of course, everybody wants to have a front seat, right? And I do have to say, I worked for President-elect Biden when he was vice president under President Obama. And he is just the most magnanimous, fun, just big-hearted person that I have ever known. And he would love everybody on that stage. He would love everybody to have a front row seat. It just, you know, this is so, this celebration is so regrettably contrary to the individual that he is and represents. But alas, it is what it is. And you still have to make those critical decisions. Who sits in what place? Thank goodness for precedent and protocol that there are specific reasons why certain individuals are given the seats that they are. There are family sections. There is a diplomatic section. There is a leadership section. Members of Congress are seated in a very specific area in accordance with their roles and their leadership positions. All of that is, those expectations are laid out well in advance, so no one shows up and says, well, why am I seated here? I don't understand it. Shouldn't I be up in that front row seat in that first seat? No, it's all explained well in advance. People know, people expect to have those expectations set. So they can just enjoy the ceremony at hand. For those individuals today that were given the great privilege, the honor of being on that day as they truly are special. That's great. So thank you so much, Joel. I was gonna circle back to you and you talked about fashion for the events at the Capitol. What about sort of evening, inaugural evening fashion? I know we're not gonna have these balls, but what do we need to know about evening wear? In evening fashion? Sure, sure. Yeah, I'm happy to talk about that. Before, I will say before we get into the inaugural balls, we do have some images of some of the events that Capriccio was speaking of. So for example, like the laying of the wreath for the inauguration, we have an image from President Trump and Vice President Pence. So there's an example of that tradition. And then also the first lady sort of welcomed tease. I think we've got, there's one of Melania Trump and Michelle Obama. I think I have one of Pat Nixon and Lady Bird Johnson. And then also we go all the way back again to Jacqueline Kennedy and Mamie Eisenhower. So again, those traditions of one first lady welcoming another. There's also, I think we have images of the prayer breakfast, which is another longstanding tradition. Here we've got Jimmy Carter. And then I think we have one of the bushes as well. So again, it's a day full of tradition and then those days of tradition do end in the evening. And that's when we move into the inaugural balls. Now the interesting thing when George Washington was inaugurated, very first one, there was no inauguration ball planned for the evening, but there happened to be a party in the city that the president, the then president could attend and that became the inauguration ball for the evening. Now they are planned through the, and I wrote it down so I wouldn't forget. It's the presidential inauguration committee. And there are official balls, and then there are a myriad of sort of unofficial balls of all levels of formality and so on. Some are sponsored by the various states, some by different organizations there in Washington DC. I think the record for the number of inaugural balls attended in an evening is still held by the Clintons, and that was 14 balls in one night. And what I read, do you remember that? You were there for the night. And like they could only dance for like 25 seconds at each ball, right? That's right, that's right. It was an exhausting evening. I remember so clearly though, the moment that we were getting ready to leave and you refer to some of the attire and Hillary Clinton had selected an Arkansas designer by the name of Michelle Phillips. And when she saw this beautiful sketch, it was like, that's it, I just have to wear this. Her next inauguration was by one of her favorite designers, Oscar de la Renta, and it was an exquisite gold gown. But her gown that evening was again, quite symbolic as you stated. It was more of that violet purple, but it was intended to be the red and blue melding together. So kudos to you for making that note earlier about Dr. Biden's, her suit. But I just recall when she walked out of her bedroom after getting dressed and President Clinton standing there and he just was drop-jawed. He's, oh, Hillary, you just look fabulous. Swept her up and off we went from ball to ball. I was thoroughly exhausted by the end of the evening. I did have a tag team person that I was working with, Kelly Craighead. She was a great friend, but boy, oh boy, it's a long night. The first couple, you know, they spend a lot of time in the car on that evening as they're going from ball to ball to ball. And so it's more fun for the people at the ball than it is for the President and First Lady. Now I could go, I was spending a lot of time talking about all the First Ladies and all girl gowns over the years, but I just wanted to highlight two of the dresses of both Laura Bush and Michelle Obama. So if we look at the first dress that Laura Bush chose, similar to Hillary Clinton, she chose a Dallas designer, a Texas designer for her first dress in this wonderful red. And then for her second, again, similar to Hillary Clinton, it was an Oscar de la Renta. And it was, you know, this sort of beaded silver dress. So these are two of my favorites, just because I'm from Shreveport, Louisiana, which is very near to Texas. And I have a very Texas mentality. I went to school in Texas. So I like a Texas style and it resonates with me. And then similarly, if we look at Michelle Obama, both first inauguration and second inauguration, those are by a wonderful designer, Jason Wu. He is Taiwanese Canadian, was just starting his career. And Michelle Obama chose him to design her first inaugural gown, which is the white gown. And then she did a repeat for the second inauguration with the red gown. And I mean, it put Jason Wu on the map. First Ladies can really make a designer's career. And we actually have in the special collection of historic dress, which is a teaching collection here at Purdue. We have a Jason Wu, but it is a Jason Wu ensemble that I bought at Target. And I specifically bought it because I wanted students to be able to see how high-end couture that is promoted by a first lady or a political figure then can become mainstream. And so you can now, at least this special collection that was created by Jason Wu, you could buy it at Target and buy into a piece of that Obama mystique. So, again, not making a choice is making a choice, but our first ladies, our first families, their administrations, they're very purposeful in the clothes that they choose. I did wanna bring back, just because I didn't mention it before, I do have a picture of Melania Trump's inauguration outfit. And I did wanna show that if we can. This was by Ralph Lauren, a great American designer. We knew, we all assumed all the costume historians and fashion critics, we assumed that Melania Trump would select an American designer and she did. But there's a lot going on here that it is a color that is called Air Force Blue. It's a specific shade of blue that is similar to the Presidential Plane. And we don't know if that was purposeful or accidental, but that's the color that's been given to it. And also, it's the same repetition of a cloth coat with matching dress, just the coat is much, much shorter. And it's very European and it's cut, but American in its sensibilities. And that's what we often see. So it is unfortunate that we won't have inaugural balls this evening, but hopefully the Bidens will have plenty of opportunities in the future to celebrate in a formal way, certainly through state dinners and other events. So I think people will be celebrating regardless of whether there is an organized ball or not this evening. They'll be celebrating. Do we know? In a safe way, in an appropriate social distance way, but I'm sure they'll be celebrating. Do we know, thank you, Joel. Do we know whether or not there will be any inaugural balls perhaps sometime in the future or is that unknown? There's no rain check on ball. I don't believe there's anything currently planned. You know, I am hoping that we'll have an opportunity here in Washington DC to publicly and openly and together, again, celebrate the inauguration of this extraordinary president. But I think that what he wants to do and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris wants to do is really get down to business. They are looking to the first few hours, not even days, those first few hours after they've taken the oath of office of making some swift changes. And so they're looking forward to taking over the reins of service to our country and perhaps putting on the back burner for a bit the days of celebration. Now, who picks the entertainment? Oh, he does. Absolutely. The president-elect. Absolutely. This is his day. And so as Joel noted, there is a presidential inaugural committee that is selected by the president-elect. And they're individuals who have worked closely with him over the years and people who worked tirelessly with him on the campaign. And they assist in crafting out this day of celebration. And I just have to give them some kudos. The field of flags, beautiful, stunning visual. And it just makes us all think of how blessed we are to live in this country. And remember, the people who are not here with us to celebrate this moment because of the pandemic. And just the people that he selected to celebrate this moment. A lot of pop culture. I thought that was fantastic, making a bridge between his generation and the generation of his grandchildren. I'm sure that they had probably a little bit to do with it. He loved to travel with them. He loves to have them over. He and Dr. Biden just love embracing their family. And it's not just the grandchildren. I mean, my dear friend, Missy Owens is one of his nieces. And she's constantly with the vice president and Dr. Biden as well. They love family. They embrace family, especially during these historic times. I think there's an inauguration playlist that was released specifically for the inauguration. So if people haven't checked that out, they should. Now, is there any history of including first pets in sort of the inauguration events? Is any president-elect ever involved their dog or other pets? Joel? I mean, there have been a lot of White House pets and animals, vice presidents as well. But I don't think any have been involved in the inauguration of this. And no pet fashion that we know about. None that I've heard of. Well, I think though that, I think the Bushes had a little jacket that was on there. Mrs. Bush would put little jackets on her dogs. Oh, does it mean, yes. Yes, exactly. And President Nixon was very fond of his dog. The Trumps did not have a pet in the White House. So it's a return. Champ is returning to the, a pet is returning to the White House and it's in its champ. And I recall when I was in protocol, we made gifts for children that were in the image of White House pets. And so we had a bow dog and a champ dog and children. Oh my goodness, the children that we visited and gave them to, oh, they just cherish them. That's great. So Capriccia, so as the inauguration is taking place, can you just speak briefly about what's happening back at the White House? Oh, well, it's a little bit like a mad scramble. The extraordinary White House staff, I spoke of them just very briefly, are trained for these transitions. They understand the importance of making sure that all of the former president's items and luggage boxes, et cetera, have been packed up appropriately and loaded up into a moving van that will take off. Now, it is unclear to me if the Trump's moving van is already come and gone, it may have in previous days. I do understand that Mrs. Trump has been packing for some time. But traditionally what happens is that the moving van of the current president has preloaded and then at noon, it makes its way down the south grounds when the incoming president and first family's moving van makes its way up and their items are immediately offloaded. I remember when the Clintons moved into the White House, it was boxes and bags and suitcases and everything everywhere. And you have to make some semblance of organization before they return back to the White House after the presidential parade. And simultaneously now staff is making their way into the White House for the does not pause. It needs to seamlessly move from one administration right on into the next. That's fantastic. You know, I'm mindful that our time is getting a little short here. And so I've got, I think one last question. Capricia, you know, we are very proud of you as an alum of Purdue University and of the College of Liberal Arts. And I know we've got a number of students here that will be watching and listening. And I suspect that they would very much like to hear your story about how your path sort of landed you in the White House doing this sort of work. So if maybe you could sort of share a few minutes just about that story. Well, Dean, I want to thank you and for all of your hard work and your dedication and to Joel. And also I really want to note Laurie Sparger who has been a dear friend over the years to me and has brought me back to the Purdue campus to visit. I actually was an old master. Yay, I loved it. I loved my old days. I loved the students that I worked with. Every minute that was planned was truly, truly spectacular. I adored my days at Purdue University. They're so very lucky to have Mitch Daniels as their current president. He has opened this campus up, provided new and amazing opportunities. Every time I visit, I'm just taken with all of the expansive buildings that have been created, the new programming. And in particularly in the School of Liberal Arts where I found myself, we were a little small at the time and now boom, it has just exploded. And it really is a school that people seek out and education people seek out all over the country. I fondly recall my graduation day and leaving Purdue, my father somehow thought that I was going to be an engineer. But I insisted to him that I had a great education in liberal arts and political science with a Spanish emphasis and that I was going to go on to law school, which I did do, which then led me of course into politics. So it was the roots of Purdue that set me on my way, provided me so many wonderful opportunities, extraordinary professors. I remember Professor Barris, he was wonderful to me, gave me just a great foundation in political science, a lot of challenging classes, the opportunity to study abroad with the Wisconsin Indiana Purdue program. I studied in Spain for a year. It's just so many wonderful opportunities that I received through my Purdue education. And I also have to say meeting the most just extraordinary individuals and people who have become great friends from those that I met in my classes to, of course, I have to mention my sorority, pi beta-phi, my sisters there have remained lifelong sisters and we continue to stay in touch over the years. So I am immensely grateful for the education I received and what I would say to current Purdue students is take advantage of every offering you can there. They will assist you in getting internships. I was lucky enough to get one of the State Office of Ohio which really began my interest in politics and that was through the guidance office at Union Hall. And just all of the various class offerings, the ability to study abroad, just so many opportunities and they continue to grow at Purdue University. And reach out to your alumni network. I love when I receive word from Purdue students looking for some help or some advice. We are here to help you make your way through your years at Purdue and set your foot path forward on your career. So thank you all again for inviting me to be a part of this fabulous discussion on this incredibly special day. Both of you, exemplary of what Purdue has to offer, thank you both so much. Well, thank you Capriccio. And we are very proud of your accomplishments and look forward to continuing to watch your career unfold and having you back on campus whenever you're in town. So with that, I wanna thank you, Capriccio and Joel, for a terrific discussion as we try to explore some of the themes related to the red carpet and traditions of inauguration and for members of the audience. I wanna thank you for joining us. We certainly hope that you will be able to continue to participate in the other sessions that we have scheduled for today. And with that, we will go ahead and close this one out. So thank you and wish you both.