NATCHEZ — On Wednesday evening, city and county officials gathered at the federal courthouse to welcome Alcorn University’s newest leader — President George Ross.

While Ross officially took office in January, Wednesday’s celebration was one of the first in a series of inaugural events to welcome the new president.

The inaugural celebration started with a parade in Utica, Ross’ birthplace, and will culminate on Saturday at the university’s football game.

Taking time from greeting guests, Ross said he has enjoyed his time at Alcorn so far.

Ross said he is still getting a feel for the school’s operations and hopes to finish his transition process by early next semester.

“It’s going well,” Ross said.

Aside from making the transition into day to day life at the university, Ross has been spending a great deal of time communicating with faculty, staff and students to find areas of improvement within the school.

But that process won’t stop anytime in the future, Ross said.

“You never stop communicating, you never stop learning,” he said. “It’s a constant process.”

And while Ross said he’s enjoyed the inauguration so far, he was particularly looking forward to the end of Wednesday’s event — that’s when his daughter was scheduled to arrive from Illinois for a visit.

“I can’t wait to see her and give her a hug,” he said smiling.