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Double
eagle
Flying
high
Down the Corridor
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Occasionally,
green and white streamers can be seen floating through the breeze
at its wingtip, and during Homecoming and student government elections,
small campaign signs surround its base. After the New Orleans Bowl
invitation, it wore green Mardi Gras beads. When the Sept. 11 tragedies
struck, students adorned it with small American flags, flowers,
cards and prayers.
For 12 years, the 22-foot-tall bronze eagle statue in the heart
of campus has served as a rallying point for the university.
Artists have described In High Places as a soaring eagle
doing a handstand on a wingtip. The 1,900-pound statue was dedicated
in 1990 as part of the universitys centennial celebration.
The sculptor, Gerald Balciar, said in dedicating the statue that
the eagle is an excellent symbol.
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In
High Places, featuring the universitys eagle mascot,
was sculpted by Gerald Balciar and dedicated in 1990. |
An
eagle does not rise above its surroundings just for the heck of
it, he said. The eagle has a purpose in mind before
it starts its upward journey. The eagle doesnt spend a lot
of time in the clouds. It goes high enough to get a clear view of
the world around it and then goes to work. With this bronze, I salute
the high-flying spirit of achievement I find embodied in the eagle
and in the University of North Texas.
North Texas
bronze eagle landed in its place outside the University Union and
Administration Building after Larry Jobe, a former chair of the
Presidents Council, brought the idea to university officials.
Jobe suggested
wildlife sculptor Balciar after seeing the artists work at
a Dallas gallery.
With its eternal flight, the soaring eagle continues to remind students
and visitors that it is not simply a mascot it is a symbol
of a dynamic university.
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