Even though famous American poet Robert Frost never graduated from the College, he will soon become a permanent fixture on Dartmouth's campus.
The Class of 1961 will donate a life-size statue of Frost, who enrolled as a member of the Class of 1896, to the College, English Department Chair William Cook said.
Cook said he met yesterday with American sculptor George Lundeen, J. Michael Murphy '61 and English professors Alan Gaylord, Don Pease and Don Sheehan to discuss what image of Frost they will use for the statue.
Murphy, the chair of the project, said his class commissioned Lundeen to create a life-sized, bronze statue of Frost.
Lundeen also created a life-sized, bronze statue of Benjamin Franklin sitting on a bench at the University of Pennsylvania. Murphy, who said the Franklin status has become "a symbol of the University of Pennsylvania," said he does not know if the Frost statue will be similar to it.
The class will donate the statue to the College in two years at its 35th reunion, Murphy said.
The class decided to donate a statue to Dartmouth because the College currently does not have an abundance of statues, Murphy said.
Class of 1961 Vice President Robert Rosier said, "We are going to be unique in this regard."
Murphy said the Class of 1961 chose Robert Frost because he had a strong connection with the class, because Frost used to visit the campus frequently.
Although Frost left the College during his freshman year, he served as a Ticknor Fellow in the Humanities during the 1940s and visiting the campus on many occasions, Murphy said.
Frost received an honorary Doctorate of Letters from Dartmouth in 1933 and a Doctorate of Laws in 1955.
His last visit to Dartmouth came in November 1962, just two months before his death.
Murphy said the class first considered Daniel Webster, Class of 1801, as the subject for the statue.
He said although Webster is Dartmouth's most famous graduate, he had no connection to the Class of 1961.
"We're old but we are not that old," Murphy said.
Rosier said the class and the College are holding discussions to determine the location of the statue.
The class decided upon the statue at a meeting during Homecoming two years ago, Rosier said.
"I am excited about the statue," Rosier said. "The whole class is very excited about it."
