Class of 2010 leaves legacy gift on campus

Three-time alumna, Marjan Eggermont

In a first for the University of Calgary, a graduating class has left a legacy gift to campus that will be enjoyed by current and future students for years to come.

Jointly financed in this, the first of a three-year agreement between the U of C Alumni Association and the Students’ Union, the Class of 2010 selected as its legacy gift a piece of art entitled One-way Ticket by Marjan Eggermont, BA’91, BFA’96, MFA’98, and a senior instructor in the Schulich School of Engineering.

The piece is the first legacy gift of its kind on this scale at the U of C and will be installed in a town-square-like setting in the new Energy Environment Experiential Learning building, currently under construction between Campus Drive and 32nd Ave. NW and scheduled to open in 2011.

The U of C’s 2010 Class Ambassadors, Scarlett Crockatt, BComm’10 and Jason Motkoski, BSc’10, were members of the selection committee for the class gift. “It enriches a new key student building on campus that will be a mingling area for students from all faculties,” says Crockatt.

Motkoski agrees that Eggermont’s work will enhance the student experience. “It will inspire future students to achieve excellence, reach for the stars, and serve as a reminder to give back to the communities that have helped foster their individual success,” he says.

“The class legacy gift is the showpiece of our Graduating This Year program for our 5,000 new graduates,” says Catherine Bagnell Styles, associate vice-president, external relations. ”GTY celebrates with our grads and welcomes them into our alumni family. The gift allows the class of 2010 to give something tangible to future generations of students and we are thrilled to have the Students' Union as our partner in creating these class legacies.”

The title of Eggermont’s work, One-way Ticket, refers to three things: her immigration to Canada, the piece’s one-point perspective typical of art depicting Dutch landscapes, and her experience at the U of C, which has been a “one-way ticket to a different phase in life,” she says. One-way Ticket comprises 15 etched steel panels, and Eggermont says she tried to echo the exterior of the EEEL building by choosing a finish to respond to the changing interior light. “I hope it adds to the inviting feel of the building,” she says.

Eggermont says she is honoured as a professor, a three-time alumna and an artist that the class of 2010 has chosen her work. “I was happy getting the commission, but honoured that the class had picked it as their gift. It is very moving,’ she says.

Marjan became a student again last September when she started work on her PhD in computational media design. “I think this university has great programs and people on offer,” she says. “I love being in a university environment, so having work on display adds to my experience here and I hope it will add to other people's experience on campus.”

Charlotte Kingston, 2009-2010 president of the Students' Union, was instrumental in moving the class gift partnership forward. "The University of Calgary is coming of age," says Charlotte. "And we believe the legacy gifts will remind future students of how far we've come and inspire us into the future."   

One-way Ticket will be unveiled when the EEEL building opens in 2011.