The great blue heron sculpture outside Wubben Hall has been the target of repeated thefts.
Despite being heavy and bolted to a large rock, the bronze sculpture that normally rests in the Wubben Hall courtyard gets around.
Julie Fredlund, Administrative Assistant for the Biological Sciences Department said the sculpture went missing during homecoming weekend. Shortly after, the grounds staff found it and returned it to its original location. The next day, the heron was found at Bunting Avenue Student Housing. The grounds staff recovered it again.
The sculpture, a donation from a former CMU student, is worth over $5,000. Sculptor Scott Shaffer graduated in 1986 with a degree in biology. He donated the sculpture to the university in 1998.
The heron is not the first piece that students have tampered with.
Biology professor Dr. Bruce Bauerle said that several years ago, students took the Colonel Sanders statue from the KFC across the street and held it hostage. They returned the colonel after receiving 20 pizzas.
“It was funny that time, but students tried to do something similar later on and the president at the time put his foot down,” Bauerle said. “We can’t let those things get out of hand.”
Bauerle said that if artwork on campus continues to be moved around, it can quickly turn into a legal issue.
“The artwork is enriching to the campus,” Bauerle said. “It’d be great to have even more if everybody could be responsible with it.”

cmfoster@mavs.coloradomesa.edu