Grad Gift 2008

When Grad Class Committee President Adrian Molder visited the King's archives, the plethora of dusty grad gifts from past years sparked a need to leave a more visible impression on the university. An installation was only logical to the committee, made up of Molder, Ruby Stocklin-Weinberg, and Erica Rayment, and after ditching the too-costly thought of having a King's crest placed in the A&A floor, the idea of a stained glass window at the top of the staircase seemed perfect.

"The foyer didn't feel complete or finished, and when you walked in, it didn't really talk about what happens at King's," says Molder. "It seemed like an empty space."

Made up of the King's crest, bordered by the university and its programs' dates of establishment, the stained glass artwork catches the eye upon immediate entrance into the A&A. Rayment, the committee's treasurer, felt it absurd to give a gift and have it hidden, and so was pleased with both the idea and the product.

"We had been concerned that a lot of gifts were sitting down in the treasure room," she says. "There's no way they can put this in the archives."

Along with creating a gift that would remain present at King's, the committee also deemed it important to give back to their university. Molder points to the strong pride and ownership among King's students, but admits that not often do students contribute to the school's physical space.

"We use it for four years," says Molder of King's. "We love it, we talk about it, but very few people try to improve it in any way."

The piece now prominently installed in the A&A window came at the end of a series of designs provided by Terry Smith-Lamothe, a stained glass artist and architect. Adjusting this and tweaking that, the Grad Class Committee, Smith-Lamothe, Librarian Drake Petersen, the Property Grounds and Safety Committee, President Dr. William Barker, and the Maintenance Department worked together to create the final product.

Satisfied with the piece's simple aesthetic that suits the look and age of the building, Smith-Lamothe is also pleased by the prestige and visibility associated with the work.

"King's is a well-known and old university," he says, "It's nice to have a place there in that tradition."

Sharon Brown, the Administrative Secretary for CSP, EMSP and HOST, was awarded with the position of Honorary Class President by the committee at the time of the gift's presentation. When she first laid eyes on the stained glass piece, she thought it was both stunning and fitting.

"It's beautiful," she says. "It looks like it was always there. It fits in perfectly with the aesthetics of the university."

The gift's unveiling, held before the President's Dinner on May 14, 2008, was nerve-racking, Rayment admits, but the unanimous approval from all those in attendance made it worth it.

"It was a little bit intimidating, but when we pulled the curtains back, there was this collective intake of breath and we knew yes, people were happy with it."