University of Colorado Colorado Springs supporter Glenn Williams aims to level the playing field with several gifts he has made toward UCCS women\u2019s athletics these past five years\u2014including an endowed scholarship for women athletes.<\/p>\n
And now, with a gift of a 12-foot-high sculpture that will grace the Four Diamonds Complex on North Nevada Avenue, Williams\u2019s legacy will be evident not only to his scholarship recipients, but to thousands who use these athletic fields each year. <\/p>\n
Williams commissioned Loveland sculptor Denny Haskew and the National Sculptors\u2019 Guild to produce this $155,000 bronze sculpture, which will feature a woman shortstop modeled on a former UCCS player. The sculpture, whose commission was facilitated by the CU Foundation, will be installed and unveiled at a ceremony at Four Diamonds in spring 2011. <\/p>\n
Haskew\u2019s work, heavily influenced by his own experience as a Native American, is showcased in many high-profile municipal settings as well as in major collections and museums including the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy inspiration for this sculpture has been to create a museum-quality monument that reflects the intense focus of the student-athlete and has the appeal and respect of the UCCS community,\u201d Haskew said.<\/p>\n
Williams said he had the idea to commission the sculpture at a UCCS event. \u201cChancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak had a dinner one night on campus\u2014I was at the dinner\u2014and for some reason, I starting thinking about something I might do for softball,\u201d Williams says. \u201cIt crossed my mind: why not put up a sculpture of a woman playing softball at Four Diamonds? I mentioned this to the chancellor, and she said, \u2018Go for it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams has similarly donated athletic sculpture to schools such as Eastern Illinois University\u2014where he spent his career as a high-ranking academic administrator. <\/p>\n
The Glenn D. and Joan R. Williams Endowment for Women\u2019s Athletics, established in 2007, has already supported UCCS women student\/athletes in softball, basketball, and volleyball; he has endowed another fund to support the softball coach position. <\/p>\n
\u201cGlenn Williams is a special friend of the university and our women\u2019s athletic program,\u201d Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak said. \u201cWe are deeply appreciative of his continued support.\u201d<\/p>\n
His gifts to UCCS are all the more remarkable given that his association with the university began in 1993 when he attended his first UCCS softball game. In 2005, he met softball coach Scott Peterson while attending a UCCS playoff game, and became an enthusiastic supporter thereafter. <\/p>\n
Williams credits Shockley-Zalabak\u2019s performance as chancellor as another primary reason for his support of UCCS: \u201cShe has done everything right, and I know what it looks like on that side of the desk having been a college administrator,\u201d Williams says. <\/p>\n
Williams feels strongly about supporting women\u2019s sports at UCCS. \u201cThe least amount of scholarship money is awarded to softball\u2014every other sport gets more than we do. And one of my priorities is to level the playing field,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n
Founded in 1967, the nonprofit CU Foundation partners with the University of Colorado to raise, manage, and invest private support for the university\u2019s benefit. Our donors help the university transform lives through education, research, clinical care, and community engagement. Visit www.cufund.org for more information.<\/p>\n
UCCS, located on Austin Bluffs Parkway in Colorado Springs, is one of the fastest growing universities in the nation. The University offers 36 bachelor\u2019s degrees, 19 master\u2019s, and five doctoral degrees. The campus enrolls about 9,000 students annually.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
University of Colorado Colorado Springs supporter Glenn Williams aims to level the playing field with several gifts he has made toward UCCS women\u2019s athletics these past five years\u2014including an endowed scholarship for women athletes. And (Full Press Release)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pressreleases"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=544"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}