A new symbol of Eagle spirit stands at the entrance of after ����Vlog unveiled “Freedom to Soar,” a life-size bronze statue honoring Freedom, the University’s beloved bald eagle mascot who passed away in March 2025. 

The sculpture has a wingspan of approximately eight feet and weighs 385 pounds. It sits atop a custom cast and polished concrete pedestal that weighs 6,000 pounds. The inspiration for the final look is one that Eagles football fans will find familiar.

“The plinth is designed to reflect Freedom flying over the stadium,” said Jason McCoy, studio technician in the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art. “It has the terracing of the seating inside the stadium, and Freedom is flying at an angle and soaring down to the field. So, it’s designed to mirror the stadium and Freedom’s Flight over the stadium.”

For more than two decades, Freedom was more than a symbol on game days. He embodied strength, pride and the True Blue spirit of Eagle Nation. His story inspired thousands of alumni, students, faculty, staff and fans, and his presence at community and University events uplifted generations of Eagles. As an ambassador for Georgia Southern, wildlife and as a symbol of our nation, Freedom inspired thousands annually at , the in Savannah, , community events and other appearances across the State of Georgia and the .

“There’s this continuation of Freedom’s legacy that is connected and ingrained into the Georgia Southern community,” said Jeff Garland, associate dean of faculty affairs and research. “That’s the legacy of this sculpture. It’s a great way to show that legacy and show we will have him forever.”

Restoration and preparation of the statue began in April 2025, and were carried out by an eclectic team from all corners of the Georgia Southern community. Students, faculty and staff from the BFSDoArt, Master of Fine Arts student Tanner Maxey, Associate Professor Matt Mogle, in addition to Garland and McCoy, contributed work to the monument. Steve Hein, executive director of the Center for Wildlife Education, served as consultant throughout the project. Additionally, Georgia Southern’s Division of Facilities Planning, Design and Construction, led by Project Manager Sandi Wilkinson, was supported by Dabbs Williams General Contractors to help with the landscaping and installation process.

Designers wanted even the smallest details included in the piece, all the way down to counting the number of feathers along the edges of the wings.

“You want all parties involved to agree on what’s happening so that everybody’s happy with the final outcome,” said McCoy. “It takes a lot of people to get stuff like this done. It’s a memorial piece for the University mascot, so it’s going to mean a lot to a lot of people.”

The statue stands alongside the Erk Russell statue in the plaza at , which will unite two enduring symbols of Eagles football.

Friday’s ceremony featured the unveiling of the statue, as well as speeches and stories from those who worked closely with Freedom and the Wildlife Center. Speakers included Hein, Garland, ����Vlog President Kyle Marrero, Alumnus David Ball, Hein’s longtime mentor Steve Layman, Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives Jon Burns, Georgia State Senator Billy Hickman and Athletics Director Chris Davis.

“Freedom wasn’t just a mascot,” said Marrero. “He was a symbol of strength, of unity and of that True Blue pride that defines Georgia Southern. In true Eagle fashion, he grew into something bigger than anyone expected. As we unveiled this new statue in Freedom’s honor, we celebrated not only his life but the tradition and spirit he leaves with us.”

A new Eagle sculpture called “Virginia” has joined the Eagle Nation on Parade flock after landing at the new Texas Roadhouse restaurant in Statesboro, Georgia. 

The sculpture is named after the late Virginia Sabb Jackson, who worked in Eagle Dining Services at the former Landrum dining hall for many years. The placement of the 6′ x 5′ x 4’ fiberglass sculpture at Texas Roadhouse honors the restaurant’s managing partner and local owner Maurice Jackson, Virginia Jackson’s son. 

“It feels like I’m at mom’s house instead of my house because she’s here every day watching over me,” Jackson said. 

“Virginia” became the 10th Eagle sculpture to be a part of the Eagle Nation on Parade Public Art Project and was painted by Jeff Garland, MFA, interim co-dean of the College of Education at Georgia Southern and former chair of the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art. 

Jackson shared he wanted a natural look for the sculpture, which inspired Garland to research the types of environments in Texas where bald eagles typically nest.

“I saw the environment where this sculpture would sit, and I noticed the colors of the rocks and bricks around the restaurant, and that led me to think about the types of rocks you’d find in Texas,” Garland said. “The colors on the rock at the foot of the sculpture are a direct reflection of the environment where the eagle would live in Texas, so I was really concentrating on that aspect when I was painting it.” 

Jackson loved how the sculpture turned out. 

“It’s awesome, and at nighttime, it is wonderful because the building is illuminated,” Jackson said. “Then the special thing about it is if you stand in front of the Eagle, the flag actually flies between the wings.”

The Eagle Nation on Parade Public Art Project salutes the University’s traditions, celebrates the unity of campus and community, contributes to the economic vitality and quality of life in Statesboro and supports student scholarships and research.

“I think the most important thing about the Eagle Nation on Parade is the connection to community and the opportunity for students to have that connection to community,” Garland said. “Betty Foy Sanders was connected to her community and it was what she cared most about. That’s why she created scholarships, and that’s why Eagle Nation on Parade is directly tied to student scholarships.”

The Mark Finlay Memorial Lecture Series was created in honor of Mark Finlay, a former professor of history and assistant dean of the College of Liberal Arts on theArmstrong Campus. 

The series has featured prominent nationally and internationally acclaimed speakers, beginning with Chuck Leavell, an environmentalist and Rolling Stones pianist, who spoke about his work in forestry conservation.

The lecture is hosted by the College of Arts and Humanities and co-sponsored by the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art and the Telfair Museums. 

For the third straight year, Georgia Southern supporters have propelled the University to a record-breaking year of private fundraising.

Total cash, pledges and in-kind gifts to ����Vlog amounted to $23,831,604 during Fiscal Year 2023, which ended on June 30, 2023. That surpasses the total from the previous year, which was also a record at $22.3 million.

The record total was buoyed by another record-breaking fundraising year for the Georgia Southern Athletic Foundation, Inc., which raised a record $11.06 million in new pledges and outright gifts.

“As we soar into a very bright future for this University, record-breaking fundraising is a sign that Georgia Southern is not only strong now, but poised for even greater heights,” said Georgia Southern President Kyle Marrero. “We are endlessly thankful for the supporters, friends, alumni and donors who endorse our path forward and are stepping up to ensure our success.”

Donors helped with various projects and programs this past year, including:

• $1 million from Betty Foy Sanders for the Betty Foy Sanders School of Art with scholarships, travel and programmatic needs
• $750,000 deferred gift for the Department of Biology to be used for student scholarships
• 23 newly created endowments
• Anthony P. Tippins Family Training Facility for athletics

“Through unwavering dedication and the overwhelming generosity of our community, we have demonstrated the boundless potential of Eagle Nation in support of our students’ dreams and the University’s future,” said Georgia Southern Foundation Chair Mike Sanders. 

Last year’s Athletic Foundation Chair Leonard Bevill added, “The impact of this achievement will ripple through generations, leaving an indelible mark on the trajectory of higher education and Georgia Southern. I am humbled and inspired by the collective spirit that has made this three-year milestone possible.”

The Erk Russell Fund, the Athletic Foundation’s annual fund, continues to grow and saw donations of $3.2 million this fiscal year. Additionally, the Athletic Foundation received 58 major gift commitments this year, which are gift commitments of $25,000 or greater to support Eagle Athletics.

Over the past three fiscal years, the Athletic Foundation has raised more than $27 million in support of Georgia Southern Athletics. This total is the largest three-year fundraising window in department history.

“It’s clear that ����Vlog’s power to transform lives and communities is making a positive impression with our private supporters,” said Trip Addison, Vice President of Advancement, noting that more than 3,600 alumni were among the supporters this past year. “I am grateful for the welcome reception we are receiving when we ask people to join in our effort to help support our students and the work they and our faculty are doing.”

As part of World Ocean Day on June 10, ����Vlog displayed sculptures in 16 exhibit tanks at the UGA Marine Education Center and Aquarium in Savannah. The pieces were part of an exhibit at the aquarium titled “SUBMERGED: An Underwater Exhibition of Bioceramic Artwork.” 

The sculptures were of Georgia Southern’s , and supported by the UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant.

The bioceramic sculptures range in subject matter from realistic ocean species, such as octopus and sea turtles, to abstract sculptural forms that were created to engage with the aquarium fish in a new and interesting way. The students were encouraged to consider the coastal environments of Georgia but also to interpret the exhibition however they felt inspired by the material.

Casey Schachner, assistant professor of art, said working with these materials in this way was an exciting process, and the goal of the exhibit is to raise environmental awareness on coastal Georgia ecosystems.

“It’s important to consider environmental impacts of the materials we work with as artists,” said Schachner. “This collaboration between art and science is just one creative way of dealing with the algae waste from our waterways and hopefully, this show inspires others to consider how they can make their own unique impact.”

The displays were more than just good for the eyes. They were also good for the ecosystem. They were made from native algae and will be placed in the Skidaway River after the art exhibit closes. In this position, they will help form new oyster reefs.

“I am more aware of my abilities and skills than ever before thanks to the staff of the art department here,” said Gamez. “While it hasn’t been an easy path to tread, I have grown and developed not only as an artist but as a person as well. I’ve made wonderful friends with my colleagues as we support each other and work as a team along the way.”

Inyaki Fetalvero, who will exhibit painting, photography and ceramics can occasionally be found asleep in the art building after having stayed overnight to work. He has been known to bring back McDonald’s for the whole team during long nights in the studio. 

Like Gamez and Fetalvero, the featured seniors talked about their time in the program and sense of community and friendships fostered through long hours spent together.

“I learned a lot from others, especially from my professors and friends,” said Fetalvero. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without these people on my shoulders. My mentors and friends are the ones who have pushed me to my limits and helped me grow as an artist, so I’d say they’re the most important part of my experience here at Southern.”

Kelly Conrad is also a fine arts senior. She said the bonds she’s made with her student colleagues will carry on after graduation, and so will the lessons shared.

“I’ve learned new creative ways to approach problem solving, and a lot of skills that you wouldn’t think are related to art at first glance,” said Conrad. “Overall, there’s nothing quite like the experience of seeing your classmates grow, stress and improve by your side – and, of course, the late night hours goofing around in the studios, trying to be productive, but being too tired to really be coherent.”

As an extension of the sense of camaraderie and cohesion between these emerging artists, they chose a single flier design for their show rather than depicting samples of each artist’s work. They found this option more representative of the class’s spirit.

“The vast amount of skills that I’ve learned still pale in comparison to the friends I’ve made,” said fellow art student Lane Ruarks.

“E���������Գ���” is on view from April 14-20 in the Contemporary and University Galleries at the Center for Art and Theatre on the Statesboro Campus. A public reception will be April 14 from 5 to 7 p.m.

Seniors featured in the show are Tyler Anderson, Kelly Conrad, Christopher Cook, Inkyaki Fetalvero, Vanessa Franquez, Breannan Gamez, Anthony Geguzis, Syrin Johnson, Rebecca Laurence, Tyler Lane Ruarks and Michael Weatherspoon.

Where is home for you?

����Vlog student Katie Snyder was born in Kansas, moved to Arkansas, spent her teenage years in Richmond Hill, Georgia, and now calls Statesboro home.

“I feel like the Statesboro community has really welcomed me,” she said. “I’ve made so many friends and met so many different people who’ve helped me advance my career, helped me advance my social life or helped me as a person.”

Snyder is an interior design student, and a competitive one. The junior recently participated in a competitive design contest for the Sculpture Walk, a public art exhibition sponsored by the Downtown Statesboro Development Authority (DSDA) and Georgia Southern’s Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art.

Alongside her fellow students in Assistant Professor Casey Schachner’s 3D Art and Design Foundations classes, she was to use a 6-by-6-inch square piece of paper to create a three-dimensional object. Students could cut and fold the paper, but they could not remove or reattach pieces of paper. The paper submissions were juried by art and community representatives, and eight were selected to be translated into full-steel sculptures.

Interior design student Kiara Washington, who considers herself a perfectionist, admittedly, didn’t like most of her first original designs, and most of them ended up in the trash. Then, she found inspiration.

“I tried different things and I found the easiest design came from my personality,” she said. “When I add myself into my art, it becomes very technical and architectural. That’s what happened when I came through with my piece, and I love that.”

Her design was one of the handful selected for the outdoor sculpture exhibit.

“All that hard work paid off,” she said. 

Now, her paper design is being transformed into a large metal sculpture. Each steel sculpture will be powder-coated in a vibrant color to help preserve the work for years of enjoyment.

Additional students with designs selected for the exhibition are Alicia Aguirre, W’Cayla Brigham, Liam Lightfoot, Sophie Romeo, Katie Snyder, Maia Storm and Haylee Workman. 

During the opening reception, guests should park downtown and take a shuttle to the beginning of the trail and enjoy a stroll along the trail to see each sculpture, with the walk ending at City Center, the headquarters of Georgia Southern’s Business Innovation Group.

Proceeds from the auction will go to the BFSDoArt Travel Fund. This fund helps art department students travel for various types of educational experiences including class field trips, art study abroad programs, professional conferences and more. 

More information about the Sculpture Walk and how to bid online visit .

Art is often considered an unspoken language meant to express emotion, voice and identity, though audiences may not always have a clear translation of what an artist is trying to express.

In an upcoming Georgia Southern exhibition, “Figure It Out,” the audience will traverse a variety of mediums that include charcoal drawings, fibers, sculpture, digital and acrylic paintings. With these mediums, figure and portraiture will meld into the concepts of the everyday to other-worldly. Through this journey, the hope is for audiences to develop a connection to each artist’s pieces to interpret a meaning for themselves.

Asia Le, a Savannah native, is a visual arts major. In her work, she found inspiration from individuals from her past, and individuals of her own creation. She created a digital narrative played out by characters from her own life and career.

“I felt excited to finally show people my characters, stories and visions,” she said. “So, it means a great deal to have the opportunity to share my work with a wider audience than just family and friends. The digitally rendered paintings give a glimpse of who the characters are in their world and their story.”

Students in the Georgia Southern Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art are encouraged to explore their own creativity to find inspiration for their work. Many times, the passion and creativity from one student can rub off on another. 

“The most impactful part of my experience at Georgia Southern are the connections I made with my professors and peers,” said Le. “I was able to learn a great deal from each person’s own art style and perspective of what it means to be an artist.”

“Figure It Out” will also showcase the works of fellow graduating seniors Rodney Briggs, Storm Patterson-Edinger, Demarious Hartley and Gregory Tyson. The show will run from Nov. 2 through Nov. 30, Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the ����Vlog Armstrong Campus Fine Arts Gallery. 

This event is free and open to the public.

“Celebrate and support your community.”

That’s the message from Double Eagle Jean Gray Mohs, who graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in painting in 2002 and later earned her Master of Fine Arts in teaching in 2008.

This mantra of supporting and engaging with the community began while she was still a student herself. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, she and a group of her colleagues launched their own artist collective, Stillmoreroots, around the state.

“It was a really meaningful community to help explore what we were, to create challenging, accessible art, and to create a space for dialogue with the community,” said Mohs. “There’s an internal support group that you could always throw any idea out and be accepting of.” 

“Continuum” highlights the diverse professional art practices and continued creative endeavors of BFSDoArt alumni. The exhibition showcases an interdisciplinary selection of painting, drawing, small metals, digital design, ceramics, photography, prints, textiles, sculpture and more.

“This is a fantastic showing of what our alumni are up to these days” said Gallery Director Jason Hoelscher, Ph.D. “The exhibition features work ranging from relatively recent graduates to those who finished their studies in decades past. Given this breadth, it’s interesting to see the spectrum of approaches–not only in terms of discipline or medium, but also in terms of those continually exploring new artistic approaches, and those who relentlessly refine and perfect their technique to open up new areas of what might otherwise seem to be established modes of artmaking.”

The exhibition features new and recent artwork by Ashley Anderson, Elizabeth Debban, Mariana S. Depetris, William T. Dooley, Lindsey Gerow, Thyatira Grant, Susan Harmon, D’Antre Harris, Nikolaus James, Nicole James, Zak Kelley, Tyre McDonald, Jean Gray Mohs, Cynthia L. Rodday, Brian Russell, and Jing Zhou.

����Vlog’s Arts Marketing Manager Lauren M. Holmen (’13) is also a professional dancer and choreographer who has been performing since she could walk. Today, her multiple roles overlap and are deeply threaded throughout Savannah’s thriving arts scene.

At present, she’s a pro dancer in the inaugural “Dancing with the Bananas” competition, hosted by the Savannah Bananas baseball team, and heads to Round 2 of the competition on July 6.  

I was on the Southern Explosion Dance Team. It’s like NBA-style cheerleading for basketball games. They compete at nationals every year for the University. For competition, we did a jazz approach or sometimes a more modern approach. It’s just really fun. I did that for three years. I was captain my senior year.

Q: Tell us about your role as Arts Marketing Manager for Georgia Southern.

A: I have a really unique role with the University. I assist the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art, the Fred and Dinah Gretsch School of Music and the Theatre program to create and execute marketing and social media campaigns, exhibitions, concerts and productions. I additionally work with the Georgia Southern and Savannah communities to host events in the Fine Arts Auditorium.

Q: Why is it important to you to work in arts administration?

A: The arts are such an important part of everyday life. Being able to bring that to the public is very rewarding. I use the skills I learned in college and apply them to my passion to create a space for artists to be able to express themselves and bring amazing experiences to the community. I think that’s really special. 

Q: What do you like best about your job?

A: I love seeing our students grow as they gain confidence in their performances and exhibitions. There is also nothing like the feeling of a full auditorium seconds before a performance starts.  

Q: What do you like best about participating in Savannah’s community arts scene? 

A: I love the sense of community the arts scene in Savannah has. Everyone in this town wants to produce great art and assist each other in bringing quality art to Savannah. 

Q: How did you reboot your choreography and dance career?

A: After college, a friend of mine called me and said, ‘I’m doing a show, and I want you to come choreograph.’ And I was like, ‘I don’t do that anymore.’ He said, ‘Come choreograph. It’s going to be fun.’ And so I did and I’ve been choreographing for that company, the Bay Street Theatre, for almost 10 years. Because I was choreographing, they got me back on stage in a sneaky way. I started performing again because of choreographing with them. And then I kind of pivoted in my career back toward the arts and realized I could work in the administration side of arts, which I didn’t even know was possible. So that was a cool transition. That led me to my current role.

Q: What kind of performances do you do now?

 A: Currently I do theater performances. Most recently, I did ‘Hair.’ I’ve done ‘Rocky Horror Live’ several times. That’s fun. I also choreographed for a feature film, ‘Lone Star Bull.’

I choreograph the musicals on the Armstrong Campus, too. I choreographed ‘The Addams Family’ musical and ‘The Great American Trailer Park Musical’ last year. 

Q: How do you approach choreographing a show?

A:  I do research. I look at a lot of YouTube videos to see what other theater companies are doing. Also, what other competition-style videos are, as well as random offshoots of somebody doing songs and seeing what they’re doing and taking inspiration from that. But I kind of have my own style that I like to sneak in there. That’s just a combination of my experience. 

I consider myself a choreographer for non-dancers, because they don’t necessarily go the traditional counts in terms of the way they look at things, and I try to come up with words that will help somebody with that. For example, for ‘Great American Trailer Park,’ they were having issues with pas de bourrées and I said, ‘sing a song.’ You can go ‘one, two, three pas de bourrée,’ or say whatever you want. They just started shouting random words. Whatever works in your head, that’s the beat. It’s how I teach it.

Q: You’re a board member of the Savannah Ballet Theatre and currently a pro dancer in the inaugural ‘Dancing with the Bananas’ competition, hosted by the Savannah Bananas. How did those two worlds collide and what has that experience been like?

A:  I was contacted by the Savannah Ballet Theatre, which is contracted with the Savannah Bananas to help with ‘Dancing with the Bananas.’ Immediately I was like, ‘Yes, yes, yes!’ I was so excited, and then immediate panic hit.

The other women who are performing are contracted ballerinas for the Savannah Ballet. So coming back into this realm is really scary, but fun. 

We’re doing a dance competition within the game where dancers are partnered with a baseball player and each couple performs between innings. So they are playing baseball, coming to dance with us and then going back to the field. Then the fans have a chance to vote in the stands. The next day, they post the videos on their YouTube channel and the public votes. We had a week to put together a minute-and-a-half of choreography and teach it. I chose a different version of ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz.’ It’s a little jazzy musical theater number, which is really cute. I got my partner, Bryson Bloomer, a jacket with tails to wear over his uniform.

He thinks it’s really fun and it was really cool to watch him get it. There’s a part of the choreography that he was struggling with and to just watch him be very determined to figure it out was really, really cool. By the end of the rehearsal he had it.

This is all on us to really tell a story. Especially with such passionate fans. The music’s got to be right. It has to be fun. There has to be an element of silly in there. It can’t be a serious pas de deux. 

This is the biggest audience I’ve ever performed in. It’s a great experience, and not something I ever thought I would do. 

My friends and family have been so supportive of this entire thing, which is so very lovely.  I find that with Savannah, people are just so supportive.