The Lady of the Mist is a granite sculpture representing “Alma Mater,” located in the middle of the quadrangle on Louisiana Tech University's campus. Erected in 1938, this statue of a woman with open arms sits in a fountain facing north toward the old entrance columns of campus, welcoming new students and bidding farewell to graduates. The sculpture symbolizes the hope that graduates will fulfill their ambitions and highest callings in life (see Figure 1).1
The statue was the brainchild of two art professors at the university—Mary Moffett and Elizabeth Bethea—and was financed by the Women's Panhellenic Association of Ruston, the governing body of the university's sorority groups. Sadly, the sculpture was vandalized and fell into such disrepair that she had to be removed for a few years. In 1985, the Lady of the Mist was restored to her original grandeur through the combined efforts of the Student...
