Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

‘Peace Memorial’ returns to Lincoln Hall May 28-29

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A popular memorial dedicated to U. of I. students who served in the U.S. military during wartime will be returned May 28-29 to its original place of honor in the south courtyard of Lincoln Hall.

The memorial, a monolithic concrete bas-relief work called “Peace Memorial,” was commissioned in 1968 by the U. of I. Classes of 1918 and 1919 to mark the 50th anniversary of World War I.

It was moved into storage during the recent renovation of Lincoln Hall.

The Office of the Chancellor is funding the relocation efforts, which will include the services of an art mover and a crane to lift the 2-ton sculpture into place. An adjacent plaque explaining the piece also will be added.

Don Molner, a retired campus landscape architect, designed and built the sculpture.

He chose varying typography to illustrate the eras of students who served and sacrificed during World War I and II, and the Korean and Vietnam wars. To provide authenticity, he also embedded several metal pieces, including a plowshare, bayonets and military helmets.

The artwork originally included a working fountain, though the pipes connecting it to a water source have long since been removed.

“Mr. Molner was agreeable to having it reinstalled without the fountain,” said Melvyn Skvarla, the campus historic preservation officer at Facilities and Services.

He said Molner also felt that not replacing the rusting metal pieces in the monument provided another artistic entry point for the viewer.

“He felt the rust could symbolize the blood and sweat of the soldiers,” he said. “The piece was never intended to glorify war.”

Chancellor Phyllis M. Wise said the return of the monument is an important final step in the Lincoln Hall rejuvenation project.

“This is a memorial to Illinois students who have served their country,” she said, “and there is no more appropriate home for it than in Lincoln Hall – our most historic monument to student learning on the campus.”

 

Read Next

Life sciences Portrait of the research team posing together.

Minecraft players can now explore whole cells and their contents

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Scientists have translated nanoscale experimental and computational data into precise 3D representations of bacteria, yeast and human epithelial, breast and breast cancer cells in Minecraft, a video game that allows players to explore, build and manipulate structures in three dimensions. The innovation will allow researchers and students of all ages to navigate […]

Arts Photo of seven dancers onstage wearing blue tops and orange or yellow flowing skirts. The backdrop is a Persian design.

February Dance includes works experimenting with live music, technology and a ‘sneaker ballet’

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The dance department at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will present February Dance 2025: Fast Forward this week at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. February Dance will be one of the first performances in the newly renovated Colwell Playhouse Theatre since its reopening. The performances are Jan. 30-Feb. 1. Dance professor […]

Honors portraits of four Illinois researchers

Four Illinois researchers receive Presidential Early Career Award

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Four researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign were named recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on young professionals at the outset of their independent research careers. The winners this year are health and kinesiology professor Marni Boppart, physics professor Barry Bradlyn, chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Ying […]

Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

507 E. Green St
MC-426
Champaign, IL 61820

Email: stratcom@illinois.edu

Phone (217) 333-5010