The Volunteer Statue (aka the "Torchbearer") (Knoxville, Tennessee)

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web.utk.edu/~mklein/uttrads.html#statue

"The classes of 1928 through 1932 gave $1,000 to be used as a prize for a sculpture that would capture "the spirit of University youth and its ideal of service." The contest winner who was announced on May 12, 1931, was a Yale School of Fine Arts student, Theodore Andre Beck. Complaints from faculty and students caused the design to be modified. The middle--aged man was made younger-looking; the Grecian hairstyle and tunic were changed to something of more indeterminate character so as to avoid relating the figure to any particular culture; instead of a lamp in his right hand he held aloft a torch representing the maxim "One that beareth a torch standeth in shadow to give light to others"; on his left side, partially hidden, hung a "sword of protection"; and in his left hand was held the Goddess of Winged Victory, the symbol of success. Later, the design was modified to include a globe upon which Winged Victory rested--to suggest that victory over the challenges of the world, in times of both war and peace, lay in the individual's own hands. The depression and World War II prevented the statue from being cast and placed on campus, although the design was adopted as the official symbol of the University, copyrighted in 1932, and began appearing on some official stationery, class rings, commencement programs, The Volunteer and The Torch.

In 1937, the senior class gave a silver-plated model of the torchbearer to the outstanding member of the junior class; the first recipient was John Fisher. For the occasion sculptor Beck prepared a three-foot high plaster version complete with built-in flame which, on its first use, malfunctioned and completely destroyed the outstretched hand.

With the physical expansion of the University in the 1960s, there were ample sites for a large statue. The class of 1967 spearheaded a project and raised the necessary funds to cast a nine-foot-tall Volunteer. The trustees allocated money from grounds maintenance for a broad stairway, walk, and landscaping to complement the statue. There was again controversy about the design of the statue which delayed its expected 1967 Homecoming dedication. Again modified, the statue was finally cast, placed in Circle Park, and unveiled on April 19, 1968. In attendance were two members of the classes of 1930 and 1931, the president of the class of 1967, and the 1967 Volunteer of the Year.

In 1987, the Torchbearer was again chosen for its symbolism when the UT Knoxville Chancellor's Office had a twelve-inch-high version cast and awarded to a distinguished alumnus at the annual meeting of the Chancellor's Associates. The 1988 honoree was the same John Fisher who had fifty years earlier received the first Torchbearer."