The new “I” is 71 feet long and 24 feet wide.
Idaho State University is celebrating the return of perhaps it most recognized icon, the large orange I above the campus on Red Hill. Crews have been working on the restoration project for several weeks, and on Thursday afternoon, just before countless ISU Alumni return the campus for ISU homecoming festivities, ISU president Kevin Satterlee spoke about how the “I” honors the dedication of those who, beginning in 1901, have elevated the University to its present state.
Among those who have answered the calling over the years, Dr. Lawrence H. Rice, whose family came forward to fund the project on behalf of the Rice Family Foundation.
The original “I” debuted on campus in 1927, the same year ISU because a four year institution. Though, some recent ISU graduates, those who began their studies after 2014, have never “laid eyes on the I,” according to ASISU Student Body President Camdon Kay.
The “I” has been totally absent from campus for 5 years after safety concerns over its slow slide down the side of the Red hill provoked safety concerns.
The new “I” will be lit at night, and it has been engineered to last much longer than the original, ensuring the “I” remains an ISU “I”-con for many years to come.
ISU NEWS - It was designed by a team of ISU civil and environmental engineering students who were assisted by faculty in the same department. ISU Facilities Services provided project management and oversight. A&E Engineering was the engineer of record and advised the team of ISU students on the design. Starr Corporation was the contractor who built the “I.” The ISU College of Technology’s Civil Engineering Technology program did much of the surveying for the project.
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Idaho State University to celebrate the return of the Red Hill “I” on Oct. 10 at:
https://www.isu.edu/news/2019-fall/idaho-state-university-to-celebrate-the-return-of-the-red-hill-i-on-oct-10.html
