After residing immediately outside of the entrance to the Junker Center for 18 months, the Nittany Lion statue at Penn State Erie now is resting at its permanent home just a few yards away. Organizers anticipate a barrage of photos at the new Lion Plaza, which is situated at the intersection of the Junker Center, the Smith Chapel and the campus' new Research and Economic Development Center (REDC).

"We wanted a high-traffic site that would allow the lion to be visible to the greatest number of students, alumni and visitors," said Kevin Moore, associate director of development, who helped spearhead the project three years ago. "The fall commencement ceremony takes place at the Junker Center, weddings are held at the Smith Chapel, and the REDC will see a record number of students on any given day."

Weighing nearly one ton, the lion is constructed of reinforced fiberglass that, according to Moore, is as durable as concrete. It is perched atop a retaining wall with the same 7.5 degree incline as the Nittany Lion shrine, the longstanding symbol of Penn State located at University Park. As with others, Penn State Erie's replica is 75 percent to scale of the original shrine.

The lion and its newly landscaped home have been made possible by numerous individuals and organizations. Penn State Erie's 2003 and 2004 graduating classes contributed to the fundraising efforts that resulted in the purchase of the lion statue. In addition to gifts by both senior classes, University Trustee Ted Junker, Council of Fellows member Michael Woods, the Penn State Alumni Association Lake Erie Chapter and the Penn State Behrend Alumni Society, as well as the campus' athletics department and student activity fee committee each donated funding.

The Lion Plaza was designed and constructed by Erie-based Dahlkemper Landscape Architects & Contractors, Weber Murphy Fox Architects, which has offices in Erie, Pittsburgh and State College, and Cleveland; and Werley Associates, a landscape architecture firm in Pittsburgh.

Penn State's class of 1940 presented a Nittany Lion sculpted from a large block of Indiana limestone to the University in 1942. The work of noted sculptor Heinz Warneke, the crouching, powerful figure is now the popular Nittany Lion shrine, located near the Recreation Building on the University Park campus. It is said to be the campus' most photographed site.

For more photos of the move, check http://live.psu.edu/stilllife/743 online.