The centerpiece of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s planned Carolyn Dural Memorial Plaza – a large, aluminum sculpture that sits on campus outside H.L. Griffin Hall – is in place.
The “Bending the Circle” sculpture was recently dedicated in memory of Dural, the ’ assistant dean and an alumna who died in August 2020.
Dural spent a quarter century at UL Lafayette as a beloved, influential faculty and staff member.
The sculpture features interlocking red hearts to symbolize the high regard in which Dural was held, and that she held for students and colleagues, said Dr. Jordan Kellman, who worked closely with Dural for many years. Kellman is a history professor and the college’s former dean.
“Carolyn was universally loved within the college by the students and faculty and staff members she worked with, and she also deeply loved her students and her advisees. The two interlocking hearts represent that,” Kellman explained.
An inscription etched in the granite base of the sculpture underscores the sentiment, he added. It reads: “Carolyn Dural: Light of the College of Liberal Arts; Soul of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.”
Ongoing planning for the area near the “Bending the Circle” memorial sculpture, Kellman said, includes installation of nearby benches, and construction of a plaza.
Dr. Ani Kokobobo, who began her tenure as dean of the College of Liberal Arts in July, said the outpouring of affection she witnessed during the “Bending the Circle” sculpture dedication held late last month makes it evident how admired and impactful Dural was.
“Ms. Dural clearly played an integral role in the development of the college because her administrative abilities were strengthened by something far more significant – a career and a life characterized by a willingness to make others feel like they matter, and a gift for instilling confidence in those around her,” Kokobobo said.
Dural’s time at the University began as a student. She earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s degree in French. Dural taught the latter subject from 1995 to 1998, when she became assistant to the dean of the College of Liberal Arts. Dural was named the college’s assistant dean in 2009.
Kellman first began working with Dural in 2004 when, in addition to his teaching duties, he became an undergraduate adviser. In a hardcover book filled with tributes to Dural that was published by UL Press in 2022, Kellman wrote that her mentorship was “one of the main reasons that I was attracted to administration.”
The 54-page book began as a link to a Google document that was circulated among faculty and staff members after Dural’s death. The subsequent volume of tributes was so overwhelming that it was decided to publish the remembrances as a book.
Other testaments to Dural’s influence and the admiration in which she was held have included creation of the Carolyn Dural Memorial Fund, which enables outstanding faculty members to receive yearly awards bestowed in her name.
Photo caption: UL Lafayette honored the memory of beloved assistant dean Carolyn Dural (see inset in text) during the recent dedication of the “Bending the Circle” sculpture. Members of her family are shown with Dr. Jordan Kellman, the former dean of the College of Liberal Arts. Photo credit: Doug Dugas / University of Louisiana at Lafayette