Pageantry is an important part of academia. Here on the steps of the main building are assembled the mayor and several deans and senior administrators of LiepU. The Rector is on the far right. Highly regarded in Latvia, in November on his return from vacationing in New Zealand, he was summoned to Riga to serve in the Ministry of Education. I'm told he was sorry to leave Liepaja because he enjoyed a daily morning swim in the Baltic Sea. The Dean of Education, with whom I enjoyed a wonderful relationship, is standing 3rd from the left.  The flag on the left is the flag of Liepaja, in the region of Kurzeme. The Latvian flag is on the right.