5. Otis the Bear
Look! Up in the sky! It’s a beaver! It’s a cockroach! Actually, it’s Otis the Bear. Dangling on the side of Donaghey Hall, this uncanny statue was introduced in 2016 and sculpted by Department of Art Chair Bryan Massey. The hate Otis receives is a little excessive, considering an innocent and talented professor generously took the time to craft this 2,000-pound, 15-foot-long statue, plus it complements the mixed-use building it hangs from. However, its kooky appearance has polarized the campus for years. Otis’ main purpose is to resemble a bear, and he fails at that.
4. Gene Hatfield’s Bear
When the class of 1947’s artist fell sick and couldn’t sculpt the marble bear they planned on leaving as a gift, art professor Gene Hatfield worked some magic. With the help of his students, Hatfield created a concrete bear in 1949. Today, this statue sits between Estes Stadium and Bear Hall. It is nothing short of terrifying. His glare suggests he’s too busy accessing your darkest fears to read the book he’s holding. His body is shaped like a pear, his eyes are almost half a foot apart and his nearly a dozen fangs give you a new phobia of teeth.
3. Bronze Bear
Nestled appropriately outside of Bear Hall’s south entrance and forged in a Thai foundry, Bronze Bear was a donation in honor of the Centennial that the UCA Foundation accepted in 2006. David Grimes donated the bear to honor his parents, who are also UCA alumni. The Bronze Bear, despite its small stature, represents the average bear: fuzzy but far from cute, as he’s baring his teeth and poised for battle. The Bronze Bear teaches students their size means nothing and that family matters more than anything. A small but mighty statue to accurately reflect UCA’s growing student body.
2. Farris Center Bear
Although it is modeled after a grizzly bear, which doesn’t live in Arkansas, the Farris Center Bear was purchased for $500 by the Student Senate in 1967 and shipped by freight from California. The statue may not have been built by a local artist, but at least it was made from purple fiberglass, an energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly material. The result is a surreal bear radiating school spirit, standing in the lobby of Farris Center, reminding students that all bears are welcome. In today’s money, the statue would’ve cost about $4,500, much less than the $70,000 spent on Otis.
1. Valor II
Originally carved in 2013 from the World War II red oak Memorial Trees in front of Wingo Hall and removed in 2017 due to decay, chain saw artist Gary Keenan remade this life-size sculpture in 2019. Valor’s four-day journey from a block of white oak wood to a dignified beast was magnificent and can be admired on a YouTube time-lapse. Valor II is everything that makes a bear cute and scary: the flare of his ears, the tilt of his paw and his curious yet noble expression. He’s so iconic that couples who get married on campus frequently stop for a photo op.