Panelists assured that Alma Mater will be back on campus in time for 2014 Commencement at an event held Friday. 

Spurlock Museum hosted a discussion panel regarding Alma Mater’s progress and the specific renovations that were necessary. This talk was led by a panel consisting of the main conservator, as well as four University officials who have worked closely with this project.

When Alma Mater was lifted in August 2012 to be moved to the conservation studio, Christa Deacy-Quinn, the collections manager of the Spurlock Museum, said she climbed under and looked up into the statue and was surprised at what she saw.

“We thought it was just a surface problem, but when we looked inside we saw bolts were failing and we realized it was in a lot worse shape than we thought it was,” she said.

She then went on to explain the treatments that Alma has been receiving since it left campus; first, an x-ray was done that revealed that 60-80 percent of the bolts that hold the different parts of Alma together were either gone, missing or in bad shape.

Andrzej Dajnowski, director of the Conservation of Sculpture & Objects Studio and lead conservator, said the failing bolts made him decide to take apart the 48 pieces that make up the statue, even though it is very unusual to take apart a statue when completing its restoration.

“At the beginning I didn’t want to take it apart, but then we realized that if we didn’t it would be a nightmare,” he said.

Danjonwski said the old bolts are being replaced with bronze bolts specifically created for Alma and they “should last forever.” The internal structure will continue to be sound and should not cause a problem in the future, he added.

The second treatment that Alma is undergoing is a laser cleaning of her entire structure, Deacy-Quinn said. The process is reasonably new but it is becoming the most accepted method of cleaning statues and Danjonwski is the leader of this technology, said Jennifer Hain Teper, head of the conservation unit for the university library at the University.

Melvyn Skvarla, campus historic preservation officer, said laser cleaning takes off the layers of corrosion that have accumulated on Alma Mater like the white and black mold that was growing on it. He said the blue color that Alma turned over time comes from a naturally found chloride that is very corrosive and not good for the sculpture.

The panelists said they decided to return Alma to a cocoa-brown color after the restoration.

“It is returning to the bronze that (Lorado) Taft (the creator) intended,” Skvarla said.

Danjonwski said that many parts of the restoration process are rewarding.

“If you replace the bolts, you know it is safe, and if you clean the surface then it is esthetical and those are pleasant changes as well,” he said.

The panelists said they plan to treat and clean Alma Mater every year so that she never has to be restored to this extent again. 

The project is expected to cost $360,000, over two times the original estimation of $100,000. 

Skvarla said all the money that has paid for Alma Mater comes from the Chancellor’s Fund, a pool of money from private donors. Student funds or other university funds have not been used for this, he said. 

“This is the symbol of the university,” Deacy-Quinn said. “So we must preserve it.”

Claire can be reached at [email protected].