Spring 2002

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Around the Pond

UP-TO-THE-MINUTEMAN

Ben Barnhart

SOON TO BE 9 FEET TALL: sculptor John Townsend with his model for the Class of '50 Minuteman statue. (photo by Ben Barnhart) THE MONUMENTAL BRONZE STATUE TO be installed near the Campus Pond this fall is “not the Minuteman, of course – he’s in Concord,” says Ed Struzziero ’50. Not to be confused with the 19th century by Daniel Chester French, the 21st century statue by John Townsend is the golden-anniversary gift to campus of the Class of 1950 – the class that commissioned the Chief Metawampe statue near the Student Union as its graduation gift. And although Struzziero knows many will identify the new statue with UMass athletics, it isn’t really about that, either. The 1,000 men and 100 women of the Class of 1950 included large numbers of veterans. To them, says Struzziero, the Minuteman represents “the freedom and independence” that American colonists fought for in 1777 and his classmates defended in World War II. STRUZZIERO AND RETIRED PROFESSOR OF wildlife biology Don Progulske ’50 co-chair the committee to complete the $100,000 project. With the help of art professor Hanlyn Davies, the committee found its French in retired art professor and figurative sculptor John Townsend of Amherst., who leapt at the opportunity to create a work on this scale. The project is now in high gear. Townsend has completed a 3-foot-high model, now on view at Memorial Hall, in a rough-hewn, “painterly” style. He is scaling it up to full size in a studio near the Paul King Foundry in Rhode Island, where the statue will be cast and poured. The “life-and-a-half” scale is standard for outdoor commemorative sculpture, says Townsend. When complete, the 9-foot-tall, 1200-pound statue will stand on a 54-inch marble base in the heart of campus, between Memorial Hall and Old Chapel west of the Campus Pond. The class had planned to present the Minuteman at their 50th reunion in 2000. But fundraising was slow, says Struzziero, requiring the “shot of adrenaline” received when Bob Goodhue ’70, ’80G, special assistant for alumni affairs to UMass President William Bulger, stepped in to help last year. Now, with just $17,000 left to raise, Struzziero and his classmates are planning an unveiling for Homecoming 2002. To help, contact Goodhue at rgoodhue@ admin.umass.edu.

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NEVER GIVE UP

BUDGET IMPACTS

NEW CHANCELLOR ANNOUNCED

PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL APPEAL

TO BOSTON, WITH FLOWERS

UMASS DAY

E-WISH YOU WERE HERE

UP-TO-THE-MINUTEMAN

IT'S A MICROORGANISM'S LIFE -

SNAPSHOT: FREEZE FRAME

CHANCELLOR WILLIAMS: LARGER IMAGE

WE HAVE A WINNER: LARGER IMAGE

UP-TO-THE-MINUTEMAN: LARGER IMAGE

HIGHLIGHTS: "Gone when we got there" / Dept. of distinctions / Hail and Farewell

LARGER IMAGE: Snapshot