In 1920 Daniel Chester French was asked to sculpt a memorial to the first dean of the Law School, James Wood Green, who had died the previous year. French accepted the commission with the stipulation that the memorial would have two figures--Green and a student. French visited the campus and noted Green Hall in the background of the site and the natural lighting. French created the figure of Green after interviewing people who remembered him, and modeled the student's face on a photograph of Alfred C. Alford, the first KU graduate killed in the Spanish American war. The Green memorial is likely the only sculpture by French in Kansas and the only full-figure sculpture of a teacher on any university campus. The bronze sculpture was officially dedicated as the Dean James Wood Green Memorial, but has long been called "Uncle Jimmy Green." When (old) Green Hall was listed on the National Historic Register of Historic Places in 1973, the statue was included as part of the grounds. The School of Law moved to new Green Hall in 1977, reluctantly leaving Uncle Jimmy Green behind to stand in front of the building renamed Lippincott Hall. Back  Next

Location: Jayhawk Boulevard, in front of Lippencott Hall Sculptor: Daniel Chester French Unveiled: June 10, 1924 Material: Bronze Foundry: Anton Kunst Foundry, New York Pedestal designer: Henry Bacon Material: Bronze Construction: Piccirilli Brothers, New York