Colorado State University Ram Proud Bighorn

Colorado State University's Ram Proud is a bronze bighorn ram that, according to the university, students are known to pose with after graduation ceremonies in Moby Arena. Fort Collins sculptor Dawn Weimer made it, and her husband Tom Weimer, a 1966 College of Business graduate, proposed the idea. A 1998 university release described an 11-foot bronze bighorn standing on a rock outcropping and facing Longs Peak. Weimer based it on photographs of rams she took in Estes Park, working with Division of Wildlife officers. A 1999 release gave the finished figure as 12 feet tall and 1,200 pounds, after a project of four years.

The funding was unusual. Weimer made 50 tabletop models, which collectors, community members, alumni and friends bought, and the project raised more than $100,000. The university said no Colorado State or taxpayer funds paid for the bronze, and donor names were to appear on a plaque at its base. Tom Weimer said: "Our dream was to give Colorado State a sculpture that would represent the pride we feel in the university."