By Ernie W. Webb III • ernie.webb@washburn.eduA BRONZE BODIchabod bench sculpture a way for current, former board members to say ‘thank you’Artist Virgil Oertle drafted a rendering of the Ichabod bench he is sculpting. The bench, partially funded bycurrent and former members of the Alumni Association board of directors and other donors, will be placedin the Welcome Center plaza. Rendering submitted by Virgil OertleThe Ichabod has a brisk walk and friendly smile, tips his hat as hepasses, carries a book under his arm and is neatly dressed.11 SesquicentennialBy the Grand Homecomingcelebration, you’ll be able toadd “he is bronze” to thatdescription.As part of the grand openingceremony for the WelcomeCenter at Morgan Hall, theUniversity will unveil a bronze Ichabod bench sculpture.The bench will be placed in the Welcome Center plaza.“This project is a nice way of saying, ‘Thank you,Washburn. We appreciate what you’ve done for us,’” saidDavid Manley, ba ’67, former member of the board ofdirectors. “It’s important for our campus to grow and tocontinue to be beautiful, and it’s nice to be a part of that.”The bench project began with an email forwardedto Manley, then a member of the events committee onthe alumni board, two years ago. The email detailedthe work of sculptor Virgil Oertle, who created bronzemascot sculptures for Brigham Young University andUniversity of Wisconsin-Whitewater.The sculptures are popular with prospective students,students and other constituents, many of whom pose for
photos with the works of art.“My father was helping with some emailmarketing, and Dave came across an email thatwe sent out,” said Oertle, who is based in Utah.“He was interested, contacted me and thingsbegan to develop.”Manley took the idea of having a bronze Ichabodbench to the events committee, and the memberswanted to pursue the sculpture. Susie Hoffmann,director, Alumni Association, presented the projectto the rest of the board, which decided to proceed.During the next several months, a committeeconsisting of board members Manley, Hoffmann,bba ’87, John Haverty, ba ’99, Mark Ross, bba ’83,and Roger VanHoozer, ba ’72, worked with Oertleto finalize the design.“It was a back and forth process that took sometime, but we’re happy with the renderings we’veseen,” Manley said. “The bench is going to be ina great location and kind of be the focal point ofthe area where current and future students, alumniand guests can relax and take a picture with theIchabod.”The sculpture will feature a life-size Ichabodsitting on a bench with a plaque including thenames of any current and former alumni boardmembers or donors who contribute at least $500 ormore to the bench project, which will cost about$50,000.Oertle will spend several hours nearly every dayfor three or four months working on the piece,which is scheduled to be complete and in place intime for Grand Homecoming.ONLINE• The Ichabod bench is being modeled after asculpture Virgil Oertle made for Brigham YoungUniversity. Read more about that project atuniverse.byu.edu/tag/cosmo-bench/.• Visit http://bit.ly/1E22mD1 to view a video of peopleinteracting with the Cosmo bench at BYU.ABOUTDAVIDMANLEYOne of the driving forces behind the Ichabod benchproject, David Manley served on the alumni board ofdirectors from 2011 to 2015. He received a bachelor ofbusiness administration from Washburn in 1967 andserved in the Air Force during the Vietnam War.Manley joined Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas afterserving in the military and worked at the company formore than 32 years before retiring as vice president ofmember services.He is married to Washburn alumna Mary (Coultis)Manley, ba ’67, and has a son, Jason Manley, anddaughter, Jennifer (Manley) Slack, ba ’97. In addition,brother James Manley, bba ’76, sisters Betty Stiles,bsw ’74, and Carol Kaufman, b ed ’82; and niece Erica(Kaufman) French, ba ’10, are Washburn alumni.Q: What prompted your involvement in the board ofdirectors and with the sculpture project?A: Mary and I were on a Washburn alumni trip and hadthe opportunity to visit with (director) Susie Hoffmann.Shortly after the trip, she offered me the opportunity toserve on the alumni board, which I gratefully accepted. Ihave always felt a loyalty to Washburn and a great needto somehow pay back to the University for the educationI received. I don’t think I would have been able to enjoythe career I had if it wasn’t for the excellent learningopportunity and encouragement I received from thefaculty and staff at Washburn.Q: What do you remember about your time as astudent?A: I remember the opportunity to be with the studentsthat were here. They were all very focused on whatneeded to be done to get your degree.Q: What is the biggest difference now compared towhen you were a student at Washburn?A: The campus has totally changed, and it’s soimpressive to see what it is now. It was tough to losethose buildings with all that history in the tornado, butwhat a transformation that has taken place. It’s really anamazing sight to see.Sesquicentennial 12
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