Students returning to Marshall University’s Huntington campus for the fall semester will be greeted by a new statue of one of the university’s symbols, the American bison.
According to Brandi Jacobs-Jones, senior vice president for operations/chief of staff, the idea for the bison statue initially came from students during an April meeting with President Jerome A. “Jerry” Gilbert.
“At a meet-and-greet President Gilbert did with residence hall students this spring, a student named Daniel Parlock said he would like to see more statues of our mascot around campus,” said Jacobs-Jones. “The other students at the meeting were in agreement and it just took off from there.”
A graduate of Cabell Midland High School, Parlock is in the U.S. military and is now deployed overseas. The history major will return to Marshall in January 2017 to continue his studies and will work as a resident advisor for the university’s Department of Housing and Residence Life.
Jacobs-Jones said the six-foot tall, 375-pound statue is made of recycled cast aluminum. Placed on the green space between Jenkins Hall and the tennis courts, the figure is symbolically positioned facing northwest toward Old Main, a university landmark.
Employees of Marshall’s Physical Plant are landscaping around the statue with the goal of having the project finished by early next week, just in time for the start of the fall semester.
“The Marshall family has so much school spirit and excitement has been growing this week since the statue was set in place. We think students, alumni and other members of the university community are really going to enjoy having another place on campus to visit and even use as a backdrop for photos.”
Cutline: A new bison statue, shown here still packed in protective shipping covering, is being installed on Marshall University’s Huntington campus. University officials say installation and landscaping should be completed early next week. Photo by Kasey Madden/Marshall University.