COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: SCULPTURES

From the famous statue of Alma Mater that sits on the steps of Low Library, to the lion sculpture that welcomes visitors to the sports complex, Columbia boasts more than just architectural adornment around campus.  The University's many sculptures decorate the grounds with an always artistic, and sometimes humorous, flare. (Engraved into a bench on Barnard’s campus is the pithy, “Stupid People Shouldn’t Breed”).

Now widespread as a formal symbol of Columbia University, the use of images of the King's crown grew organically, its usage never formalized or standardized by the administration. As a result, several variants of the crown can be seen around campus and on university documents. The lion, however, was voted Columbia's mascot in 1910, narrowly beating out "Matilda the Harlem Goat."