UNMC History: College of Medicine centennial sculpture

College of Medicine centennial sculpture

While passing through the campus, have you ever noticed the large white sculpture located in the passageway between Wittson Hall and University Tower? The sculpture represents the history of UNMC’s College of Medicine.

The theme for the college’s centennial celebration in 1980 was “Past, Present, and Future.” The logo for the centennial showed three human figures, representing each of these time periods.

The theme and logo were represented by a sculpture, originally placed outdoors on campus between Bennett Hall (then called South Hall) and Conkling Hall (the former home of the College of Nursing), located approximately where The Lied Transplant Center is today.

The centennial sculpture, honoring the 100th anniversary of the College of Medicine, was dedicated on Oct. 5, 1980, during the Oktoberfest, an annual public open house held on campus in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The sculpture, reflecting the centennial logo, was created by artist Danny Whetstone.

The sculpture originally had an eternal flame, demonstrating the college’s continuing commitment to health care. Medical students who had completed a relay torch run across the state, the “Run to 101,” arrived at the medical center campus at 4 p.m. on Oct. 5, 1980, and lit the eternal flame of the centennial sculpture.

The torch relay run had started a few days before, on Sept. 30, 1980. Twenty College of Medicine students gathered at 6:30 a.m. in Henry, Neb., on the Wyoming border, to begin the 480-mile relay. The students, almost all native Nebraskans and in their second year of medical school, relayed an official Olympic torch across the state, from Henry to Omaha, to symbolize the statewide importance of the college’s first 100 years. The students covered approximately 80 miles per day.

Other students drove to a number of towns along the runners’ route to talk to high school students about health career opportunities available at UNMC. Dinners were planned along the “Run to 101” route in Scottsbluff, Ogallala, North Platte, Kearney, Grand Island, and Columbus, in honor of the College of Medicine.

The centennial sculpture was later removed from its outdoor site and the eternal flame discontinued when demolition of Conkling Hall, built in 1923, began in 1996, making way for the construction of The Lied Transplant Center. The sculpture was relocated to the Wittson Hall connector, where it can still be seen today.