Calif. artist to create sculpture of first president

YOUNGSTOWN -- Bruce Wolfe, an artist whose works have been exhibited from New York to Paris, has been selected to create a life-size bronze sculpture of Howard W. Jones, Youngstown State University's first president.
The sculpture, which shows Jones walking down a flight of three steps, will be unveiled in spring 2008 as part of YSU's centennial celebration.
"This project celebrates the history of Youngstown State and symbolizes the virtues of education," said Greg Moring, YSU associate professor of art and chairman of the 15-member sculpture selection committee.
The sculpture of Jones, president of Youngstown College and Youngstown University from 1931 to 1966, is being commissioned by Tony and Mary Lariccia of Boardman, and their daughters, Natalie and Dana.
Tony Lariccia, a 1966 graduate of YSU, provided 100,000 for the project. The Lariccias also commissioned a sculpture of longtime YSU coach Dominic Rosselli, which was installed in May 2005 on the south porch of Beeghly Center.
Selection
The selection committee received applications from 40 artists from across the nation and narrowed those to four finalists before making the selection in November.
Wolfe, who lives in Piedmont, Calif., studied art at San Jose State University and the Art Institute of San Francisco. He has taught painting at the Academy of Art in San Francisco and sculpture and painting at the College of Arts in Oakland, Calif.
His commissions have included sculptures of former Kansas City Mayor Illus W. Davis; John Hannah, former president of Michigan State University; U.S. Rep. Barbara Jordan of Austin, Texas; and George P. Shultz, former secretary of state.
Jones, a native of Palmyra, Ohio, came to Youngstown College in 1931. During his 35 years at YSU, Jones led the campus from a collection of one or two leased buildings and an enrollment of 472 students to a campus consisting of several colleges with about 11,000 students.
He also established the Youngstown Education Foundation, now the YSU Foundation. Today, the foundation has holdings of more than 140 million, the fourth-largest foundation among state universities in Ohio.