Known simply as “Winged Victory” for the majority of its time on campus, the armless, headless, statue of Nike (as she was known in Greek) or more properly, The Winged Victory of Samothrace (as the original is called by the Louvre) is an example of a plaster cast statue, created from an original ancient marble […]
Category: Minerva
The oldest statue on campus was a plaster statue of Minerva, the school’s patron goddess and symbol. That statue was a gift of the Class of 1907 and stood prominently in the entrance hall of the Student’s Building from 1908 to 1950, when the building was razed. The Class of 1907 Minerva statue was a […]
Minerva has been associated with The University of North Carolina at Greensboro since its beginning, when she appeared on the seal of the first diplomas awarded. But she has appeared elsewhere as well. The Class of 1907 gave the College (it was at that time the North Carolina State Normal and Industrial College) a statue […]
During the period of the Consolidated University of North Carolina (1931-1971), a seal for the Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina (now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro) appeared featuring an image of Minerva quite different from those previously used for the school’s seal. Letterhead from Consolidated University period The seal appeared […]
The Many Faces of Minerva
1894 Minerva has been with the university almost since its inception, but her image has undergone many transformations during her tenure as UNCG’s representative goddess. The first extant image appears on an 1894 diploma. Indeed, many of the very early images we have of Minerva come from diplomas bearing the university seal. 1897 The next seal, […]
Minerva, Our Goddess
How long has Minerva been associated with UNCG? An 1894 diploma in our Archives (the earliest diploma we have) proudly displays Minerva within the seal. Seal from 1894 diploma featuring Minerva It is strictly conjecture, but certainly plausible that the school’s founder, Charles Duncan McIver, is the person responsible for selecting Minerva. McIver won a […]