Occasionally, green and white streamers can be seen floating through the breeze at its wingtip, and during Homecoming and student government elections, small campaign signs surround its base. After the New Orleans Bowl invitation, it wore green Mardi Gras beads. When the Sept. 11 tragedies struck, students adorned it with small American flags, flowers, cards and prayers.

For 12 years, the 22-foot-tall bronze eagle statue in the heart of campus has served as a rallying point for the university.

Artists have described In High Places as a soaring eagle doing a handstand on a wingtip. The 1,900-pound statue was dedicated in 1990 as part of the university’s centennial celebration.

The sculptor, Gerald Balciar, said in dedicating the statue that the eagle is an excellent symbol.

“An eagle does not rise above its surroundings just for the heck of it,” he said. “The eagle has a purpose in mind before it starts its upward journey. The eagle doesn’t spend a lot of time in the clouds. It goes high enough to get a clear view of the world around it and then goes to work. With this bronze, I salute the high-flying spirit of achievement I find embodied in the eagle and in the University of North Texas.”

North Texas’ bronze eagle landed in its place outside the University Union and Administration Building after Larry Jobe, a former chair of the President’s Council, brought the idea to university officials.

Jobe suggested wildlife sculptor Balciar after seeing the artist’s work at a Dallas gallery.

With its eternal flight, the soaring eagle continues to remind students and visitors that it is not simply a mascot — it is a symbol of a dynamic university.

From The North Texan