I was in Omaha when this happened. The photo was supplied by the always alert Michael Dye, Department Technician for ECE.

I’m sure a lot of you have heard about the Willy Week jacks on campus last week. My favorite–and I think the favorite of most people on campus–was the wrapping up of the statue of William Marsh Rice for delivery to the Museum of Fine Arts, complete with ktru bumper stickers and a fake bill of sale. It was really quite clever. I smiled when I saw the pictures, and not just because it’s always fun to see someone get in a well placed poke at those in authority.

I  also smiled because I’ve seen this before. The picture to the right is also the statue of William Marsh Rice. It was taken on  June 8, 1930, the day before Commencement, at the unveiling ceremony. The statue was done by John Angel, who had spent most of his career as an ecclesiastical sculptor and had done the baptistry of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York for Rice’s architect Ralph Adams Cram.

Today’s Bonus Picture: Just in case you’ve forgotten what it looks like, here’s a picture of Willy taken just after he was unveiled.