For those graduating or those who cherish her iconic face, Frog Baby will be making her long awaited return to Ball State next week.
The statue has been getting a much-needed makeover after it was vandalized with gold paint in December, along with nine other locations throughout campus.
Hannah Leath and Hannah Mellott were later charged with criminal mischief, a class B misdemeanor, and Frog Baby was sent to Venus Bronze Works in Detroit to begin a tedious restoration process.
The news of the friendly face returning to campus is welcomed, senior geology major Fred Taylor said.
“That’s one of the first things I saw when I came here at 25,” Taylor said. “It’s kind of one of the good statements about me leaving, especially me leaving at the age of 30.”
Taylor, like many graduating seniors, alumni and students, sees Ball State’s identity in Frog Baby and thinks saying goodbye is part of the graduation tradition.
“It’s been there ever since I got here,” he said. “I kind of do want to get my picture taken next to it before I leave.”
Director of Engineering and Construction Operations Jim Lowe was notified by Giorgio Gikas, owner of Venus Bronze Works, that the statue was a day away from completion. Lowe said the statue would be back on campus grounds by Friday night.
“We hope to have it installed Monday or Tuesday,” Lowe said. “[It will] definitely [be] installed midweek so it’s flowing again just in time for graduation.”
Students on campus for Finals Week can see the statue’s grand return on Monday when it’s brought back to the Frog Baby pond.
“If you walk by there Monday, you will see them reinstalling Frog Baby,” Lowe said.
