The University of Pittsburgh has spent 50 years in Bradford, and has commissioned a world-renowned artist to help celebrate the occasion.
Bradford native David Hodges is creating a unique bronze statue of a panther that will be installed at Pitt-Bradford over the summer. “They wanted something of significance to help them celebrate the 50-year mark,” the artist explained on Monday in a phone interview with The Era from his Montana home.
The panther statue is two times larger than life size, the artist explained, at about 11 feet from the tip of its nose to the end of its tail.
“I started the clay model back in the last week of November,” Hodges said. “I finished up the mold last week. It probably took me 10 to 11 weeks solid on the clay model and close to three weeks on the mold.”
He explained the statue will be trucked to Bradford after it is cast in bronze. The hollow statue will weigh about 600 to 700 pounds.
Dr. K. James Evans, dean of student affairs at UPB, said the statue will be placed on a rock base, to look as realistic as possible.
“We want it as natural looking as possible,” said Liz Tillman, immediate past president of the UPB Student Government Association, and native of Appleton, N.Y. “It’s just like you are looking at a panther, only twice as big.”
“The whole concept of the bronze panther statue was student driven,” Evans said.
Tillman explained the 2008-09 executive board of the Student Government Association suggested the statue, and began contributing money. Over five years, the group contributed $35,000 toward the cost. The university picked up the rest, Evans said.
Along with contributing to the cost of the statue, the SAG selected its permanent location — on the Bromeley Quadrangle, outside the entrance to the Frame-Westerberg Commons.
“It will be facing the Commons so people can get pictures with the quad in the background,” Tillman said.
“The students wanted to see the panther,” Evans said. “The Commons is probably the most high-traffic area on campus. They wanted the panther statue to be the first thing people see when they enter the quadrangle.”
“And also be something people could see daily,” Tillman said.
“The panther has been the mascot of Pitt-Bradford since its founding,” Evans explained. “We are the only campus, outside of Pittsburgh, to have the panther as its mascot. Greensburg and Johnstown have other names for their mascots.
“To a certain extent, the idea was sparked by the fact that at the Pittsburgh campus, they put in a panther statue a number of years ago outside their student union,” he explained. “It’s twice life-size. Ours will be similar in size.”
Evans explained the panther is being sculpted with a live panther as a model, and also a taxidermy panther as a model.
“It’s meant a lot to us to have an internationally known sculptor doing it,” the dean said. “And the fact that he’s from Bradford is just icing on the cake.”
He explained a plaque will be mounted on the base of the statue, commemorating the fact that the panther was made possible by students.
The statue will be dedicated at a ceremony Sept. 3 — exactly 50 years to the day that Pitt-Bradford first opened its doors to students. The birthday celebration will be called “Founder’s Day,” explained Pat Frantz Cercone, director of communications and marketing at UPB.
A full slate of events is planned, including the opening of a time capsule from 25 years ago. The items from the time capsule will be put on display in the Hanley Library for a year, Evans explained.
A special exhibit will be featured at the KOA Art Gallery showing historical photos of the Harri Emery Airport that once stood where UPB now stands. Live music will highlight the occasion and refreshments will be served.
“We are excited to open it up to the community because we realize that Pitt-Bradford could not be here, would not be here if it weren’t for the great support of everyone in the community and those visionary leaders back in the early 1960s,” Cercone said. “The celebration wouldn’t be a celebration without them.”
Evans added, “The college and the campus are a community treasure.”
Hodges, a son of the late Steve and Marmie Hodges, plans to visit Pitt-Bradford to help with the installation of the panther statue, and plans to attend the Founder’s Day celebration as well.
Yara Elbeshbishi, incoming president of the SAG at Pitt-Bradford, a native of Montgomery Village, Md., said the past presidents of the SAG have been invited to Founder’s Day as well. “It would be like a big reunion.”
