Enjoy a quiet walk | 50 minutes
A Green Season
One of those pieces of environmental art is tucked between Daniel Building and Greene Hall (across from the Sandor Teszler Library). “A Green Season,” created by Mayo Mac Boggs, was a gift to the college from Wofford professors Linda Powers, Vic Bilanchone, Anna María Wiseman and Dennis Wiseman in 2007. The welded and painted steel suggests simple shapes of leaves, trees, seed pods and other natural forms.
Sister Kate and Baby Alex
Between Main Building and Snyder House is “Sister Kate and Baby Alex,” a welded and painted steel sculpture created in 2005 by Allyn MaxfieldSteele ’05. Steele, who directs the Highlander Research and Education Center in Clyde, N.C., was a Presidential International Scholar, artist and environmental activist as a student.
Back of the College Monument
Near the front of Gibbs Stadium is a bronze relief created by Winston Wingo to mark the site and honor the former residents of the “Back of the College” neighborhood. The neighborhood grew up around Wofford during the late 1890s after the Rev. A.H. Cumming purchased the land and donated it to former slaves after the Civil War. The college helped fund the commemorative monument and commissioned Wingo to create the sculpture, which also was made possible by gifts from local individuals and businesses.
J.R. Gross Cascading Steps and Fountain Wings
The Liberty Trail connects the campuses of Wofford and Spartanburg Medical Center. It’s a popular tailgate spot during home football games, the site of the college’s disc golf course and a meditative walking path with two environmental sculptures. The “James R. Gross Cascading Steps,” an environmental work created by Rick Webel, was developed in a vine-choked ravine in the “Back of the College” neighborhood. Water flows over 37 steps into a pool; the number of steps represents Gross’ years of service to the college as a professor of English and theatre. Just across the sidewalk from the water feature is “Fountain Wings.” The late Will Mabry ’09 created the work in honor of the Class of 2007 during a joint kinetic sculpture course taught by Dr. Dan Lejeune, professor of physics at Wofford, and Mac Boggs, a professor of art at Converse College. Johnny Linton ’70 purchased the piece and donated it to the college.
Stroll the campus in the evening | 35 minutes
New architectural and landscape lighting In 2018, Jerry Richardson ’59 gave a gift to the college in memory of Trustee Emeritus Roger Milliken. New landscape and architectural lighting now illuminates the college’s historic district, senior village and some athletics facilities. The project has saved the college money, and LED bulbs have boosted sustainability efforts, reducing electrical usage by about 46,000 watts per year. The moonlight effect of the bulbs shining down from the top of the trees has brightened the campus, making it even safer and more striking at night.
Milliken birthday tree
Note the Ruby Spring Nuttall Oak, which was installed on Oct. 24, 2018, commemorating both the gift of lighting as well as Roger Milliken’s birthday. Symbolically located between the Roger Milliken Science Center and the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts, the tree was chosen for the exceptional purple-red hues produced on new growth during the spring months in honor of Milliken, whom many referred to as “Big Red” after his auburn hair and tall frame. The plaque at the base of the oak reads: “Shining light on a legacy, builder, innovator and visionary, a gift from Jerry Richardson to Roger Milliken and family.”
Explore the arts | 60 minutes
The Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts
The Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 1 to 5 p.m., with extended hours on Thursdays until 9 p.m. The two Chihuly glass installations alone make a visit worthwhile, but the Richardson Family Art Gallery always features dynamic student and faculty work or work of local interest, while the upper and lower levels of the Richardson Family Art Museum showcase museum-quality exhibits such as “Southern Gothic: Literary Intersections with Art from the Johnson Collection” and “Props: Personal Identities in the Portrait Photography of Richard Samuel Roberts,” both on display this fall. Student art pops up in unexpected places throughout the building and surrounding landscape as well, and this fall the photography of Presidential International Scholar Lydia Estes ’20 will be on display in the building. Visit wofford.edu/rsrca for details on all fall exhibits.
Permanent Collection
The center for the arts also houses the college’s permanent art collection, which rotates through the galleries and is used by classes and individuals on campus for research. According to Dr. Youmi Efurd, Wofford’s curator, community groups also take advantage of the collected resources — from Asian funerary to Hungarian impressionistic and postimpressionistic paintings to pottery from the Byzantine period. “The ability to offer unique, object-based research is a benefit of a liberal arts college,” Efurd says. “Wofford’s permanent collection enhances the understanding of art and culture not just at Wofford but in the surrounding community as well.”
Roger Milliken Science Center
The Roger Milliken Science Center, adjacent to the center for the arts, also offers several interesting pieces of art worth exploring. Features such as the pinecone lights and carpet art in the Great Oaks Hall and the “Circus Clown” sculpture by Marshall Fredericks in the Acorn Café make this popular study space distinctive. Look for the terra-cotta warrior, bronze of Abraham Lincoln and the building’s newest installation, a painting by Roger Allen Nelson commissioned by Lorre and Jim Ruffin in memory of their daughter MacGregor Ruffin ’17. Each department — biology, chemistry, physics and psychology — also features student research and art.
Walk down memory lane | 45 minutes
Wofford’s historic campus is filled with treasures, some dating back to the college’s earliest days. Others are more recent but have found their way into Wofford lore. Most of these are located in and around Main Building.
Portraits
Portraits of the college’s 10 past presidents are on display in Leonard Auditorium. When Wofford’s first presidents were painted, portraiture was common as a way to record the appearance of someone, while showing their power and value. Even now, studying the portraits shows the style of the times and the character of college leaders of the past.
Benificent
In 1900, Dr. Herman Baer honored founder Benjamin Wofford with a bronze plaque in the vestibule of the chapel (now Leonard Auditorium). According to Dr. Doyle Boggs ’70, Baer worked for hours on the wording and exact arrangement of the inscription. “On commencement day that June, the eccentric old gentleman lovingly traced every word with his index finger. Suddenly his hand stopped. Where he had correctly written ‘beneficent’ was the word ‘benificent.’” He was furious and “refused to have the plaque recast, leaving it instead to warn students about the danger of sloppy work.” Generations of students now rub the “i” for good luck before exams.
The Thinking Men
On the first floor of Main Building, near the Department of Sociology, is a section of exposed brick from the original construction of Main Building. On the glass covering the brick is a line from “The Thinking Men,” a poem by Nikki Finney, composed for the dedication of the building’s renovation in 2007. “Our hands were living blackboards. In every arch and swirl of ruby brick we plied math, mind, and muscle deep into each and every dark seam.” The bricks and plaque are a tribute to the people whose strength and skill lie at the foundation of Main’s towers.
Sonnet Bench
Stop and enjoy the view from the Sonnet Bench, located between Snyder House and the Sandor Teszler Library. This spot for a quiet talk — or maybe even a marriage proposal — features Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 and was donated to the college by Patsy and the Rev. Dr. Will Willimon ’68.
Carlisle’s Sundial
During the American Civil War, Dr. James Carlisle, Wofford’s third president, purchased the sundial that now stands near Benjamin Wofford’s monument on the lawn of Main Building facing the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts. He bought it so he would always know the correct time for the longitude and latitude of Spartanburg. The dial keeps apparent time, which means it’s only correct on April 15, June 15, Sept. 1 and Dec. 24.
By Jo Ann Mitchell Brasington ’89