Panther statue to be revealed next fall at BBC

Alexi Cardona/Staff Writer

The panther statue has arrived and is being stored at BBC, but it will not be unveiled until early next fall.

The statue will not be revealed at the Wolfe University Center ribbon-cutting, as previously hoped.

An FIU Student Media article from February, 2013 reported that the statue was supposed to be debuted during the Welcome Week of Fall 2013.

James Wassenaar, director of Facilities Planning & Operations with the Division of Student Affairs, said there is no set date and that it was not scheduled to be ready last fall.

“We had no expectation of receiving the statue until this time,” he said.

Richard Azimov, vice president of SGA-BBC, said the replica will be placed in the Wolfe University Center flagpole area.

The process of unveiling the statue has taken longer than anticipated because the Division of Student Affairs plans to construct a plaza around the placement of the statue. Azimov said chairs and tables will be placed in the statue plaza and that landscaping will decorate the area.

The statue, created by New Jersey-based sculptor Brian P. Hanlon, is a replica of the statue in front of the U.S. Century Bank Arena at MMC. It weighs almost 2,000 pounds, stands over 7 feet tall and was cast in bronze.

Michael Van Gorder, project manager at Hanlon Sculpture Studio, said the process of replicating the statue for BBC took 6 months. The work was commissioned by SGA and the studio kept in touch with student leaders and administrators during those months.

The concept was based off of the FIU panther logo and was refined throughout the meetings and discussions between the studio, Student Government and administrators.

Van Gorder takes pride in the custom-made panther.

“I hope that this monument becomes a meeting point and popular photograph destination for students, faculty, alumni and fans, and enhances the pride, spirit and tradition for FIU and the campus community,” Van Gorder said.

 bbc@fiusm.com