Bunnell Statue
UA's First President Will be Lifelike on Campus
When Charles Bunnell returns to the University of Alaska next summer, he'll be walking
briskly toward a graduation with mortarboard hat in hand and robe flowing behind him.
A committee of alumni chaired by 1936 graduate Glen Franklin commissioned a statue
of Bunnell last July. Cordova sculptor Joan Bugbee Jackson has completed a one-quarter
scale statue of Bunnell, the first UA president. She unveiled her work two weeks ago
for alumni, a site committee and UA Fairbanks Chancellor Pat O'Rourke.
"I have him in the graduation robes," Jackson said of Bunnell. "It not only signifies
his office as president of the university, but hopefully, that's what the students
of the university are there for."
The 20.5 inch model in plastilene, an oil- and wax-based clay, captures Bunnell in
stride.
Jackson said Bunnell took an active role role in operating the university. "I thought
that really expressed that energy he had," she said.
The statue has Bunnell looking to his left. Jackson said she portrayed Bunnell glancing
at the space between Signers Hall and the Bunnell Building, toward the Alaska Range,
to signify the university's motto, Ad Summum. That means, "To the summit."
Bunnell was in declining health when he stepped down as president of the university
in 1949 after 28 years in the job.
"I chose him to be at an age when he was old enough to convey a sense of wisdom in
the judgments he made, but also young enough to be vigorous," she said.
The finished sculpture will stand 6 feet 8 inches. The site committee has recommended
that the statue be erected in what's now the flower garden east of Signers Hall.
By late December or early January, Jackson hopes to finish an enlarged model of the
statue's head. The Shidoni Foundry near Santa Fe, N.M., will enlarge the rest of the
statue in plastilene.
Jackson will travel to New Mexico for assembly of the full-scale model, the making
of a mold, the creation of a wax model, the making of a second mold, and finally,
the pouring and coloring of the bronze.
She said the statue may be completed and shipped here by mid-June. Alumni want to
construct and install a pedestal for the piece in time for the dedication during Golden
Days in July.
UA Sites named after Charles E. Bunnell