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BACKGROUND

The Barbara Jordan Statue Project is a student-initiated effort meant to diversify the cultural symbols prominently displayed on The University of Texas at Austin campus. In the fall of 2002, the Orange Jackets, an honorary student organization, started discussions with university administrators, Student Government officers and the Cesar Chavez Statue Committee regarding the absence of female representation among the campus statuary. As discussions progressed regarding a nationally known and historically significant Texas woman, Barbara Jordan quickly emerged as the top choice to be the first female public figure honored on the university’s campus in its 126-year history. In the spring of 2003, a unified coalition of student leaders garnered support from the student body and university administrators to implement a fee, assessed to all students, to fund the project. Later that year, the students secured approval of the project from the Texas State Legislature, the Governor and The University of Texas System Board of Regents.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

As the first African American woman from Texas to serve in the U.S. Congress and a professor in the university’s LBJ School of Public Affairs, Barbara Jordan embodied public service and a commitment to education for all. The central presence of the statue on the UT Austin campus just north of the Texas Union building—an area which receives both campus and public foot traffic—will provide a space in which members of the university, city and state communities may gather to contemplate the accomplishments of this woman of "firsts." Sculptor Bruce Wolfe’s statue captures Barbara Jordan’s humanity and spirit while it honors her legacy as a public servant, legislator, educator and cultural ambassador. In the plaza area surrounding the statue, pictured below in the site plan provided by Larson Burns & Smith Inc., the campus community and public visitors have the opportunity to reflect on quotations from Barbara Jordan’s speeches on two stelae flanking the statue. Classes may also use this area as an educational setting where students will be inspired by Ms. Jordan’s presence and her powerful words that will forever exist on campus.

FINANCIAL NEED

Student-generated funds, combined with a financial contribution from the university, cover 84% of the $690,879 project. The project seeks the remaining 16% of needed funds, which totals $110,000.

HOW TO MAKE A GIFT

Gifts to the Barbara Jordan Statue Project are tax deductible as provided by law. Gifts can be made:

• Online at the Support UT Web site. Select the Barbara Jordan Statue Project under "Area of Greatest Need."
• By check, payable to The University of Texas at Austin and with Barbara Jordan Statue Project in the memo line. Send checks to: The University of Texas at Austin, c/o Shelette Williams, 3001 Lake Austin Blvd., Suite 400, Mail Code L8000, Austin, TX 78703

For more information, contact Dr. Sherri L. Sanders, Statue Project Director, at 512.471.3212 or via e-mail at sherri.sanders@austin.utexas.edu.