This week, students will be given the chance to catch a first glimpse of the university’s next president and admire a casting of a Christian Petersen fountain that until recently was never completed.

ISU President Designate Gregory Geoffroy plans to give his first public speech on campus as president designate at the dedication of a Christian Petersen work titled “Joy.”

The dedication will take place this Friday at 4 p.m. on the south lawn of MacKay Hall.

The bronze fountain was posthumously cast from a plaster sculpture created by Petersen in 1938. Original plans were to possibly place the drinking fountain in Ames’ Brookside park, but the idea was never realized.

“Joy” features a bas relief of children dancing and holding hands that stretches along the exterior wall. It will be used as a drinking fountain along the sidewalk in front of MacKay, says Dana Michels, associate curator for University Museums.

It is one of two bronze castings made of the plaster original. The other will be placed in Reiman Gardens at a later date as a decorative fountain.

Though Geoffroy has not yet seen the fountain, he is familiar with Petersen’s work. Last month the Smithsonian American Art Museum acquired another Petersen piece that had recently been bronze-casted for Iowa State, 1941’s “Cornhusker,” and Geoffroy appeared to represent the university.

“It speaks to humanity, it represents the basic emotions and feelings of real people,” Geoffroy says of Petersen’s art.

Geoffroy says he feels art is an important part of college campuses.

“I think it raises the overall level of beauty of the university and the appreciation of art, and that’s an important part of education,” he says.

“[This fountain] continues Christian Petersen’s legacy of art on campus,” says Michels. “He was the first person to create works of art for the campus and now our Art on Campus collection includes over four hundred works of art.”

In 1934, Petersen was invited to the Iowa Public Works Project by project director Grant Wood, according to Iowa State’s Web site. He stayed at Iowa State as sculptor-in-residence until 1955. He created twelve major art pieces on campus as well as over 500 studio sculptures and 700 drawings for the university, says Michels.

Geoffroy will be joined in speaking at the dedication by Carol Meeks, Dean of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, Carol Grant, member of University Museum Curators Associates, and Lynette Pohlman, director of University Museums.

Geoffroy says he is excited about the dedication. He says it’s an important opportunity to remind Iowa State of the legacy of Petersen.

“I’ll talk a little bit about the importance of Christian Petersen and the importance of his art, but also about the beauty of the campus,” says Geoffroy.

Michels says this fountain will be on the sidewalk beside the playground of the Child Development Lab, where people can get a drink while watching children play.

“This is really coming back to what he intended,” she said.