Arkansas State University recognized Jay and Liz Flannigan in the Student Union on September 8 for their gift of a plaque telling the story of the statue of “Clyde.”
Jay Flanagan came
to ASU as an assistant track coach in 1987, and followed Guy Kochel
to become
head track and field coach in 1989. Elizabeth “Liz” Gowans Flanagan received an
Associate in General Studies degree in 1991 and a Bachelor in General Studies
degree in 1996 from ASU. She currently serves as an academic adviser at the
Support Center for Student Athletes.
Clyde, a 1,000-pound statue hand-carved from Italian Carrara marble portrays a Native American Chief, and was purchased by the Student Government Association and placed on campus in 1959. Standing more than seven feet tall, it was noted at the time when Clyde was placed on campus that he was charged with keeping watch over the students of Arkansas State.
The Flanagans said they’ve spend a lot of their lives together on the ASU campus, which including passing Clyde.
“For the longest time we’d walk past Clyde, but we knew very little was generally known about Clyde other than being mentioned at Order of the Tribe,” Coach Flanagan said. “There as no permanent way of explaining what the statute is, why it is and where it came from. It’s a great tradition and we just felt it should be honored.”
The statue resided in Wilson Hall and the Reng Center before being moved to the ASU Student Center in 2004. The statue’s name evolved from the Clyde Spence Monument Company of Jonesboro, from whom it was purchased. Up until the discontinuation of beanie-wearing in 1972, freshmen students were expected to tip their beanies whenever they passed Clyde. If a freshman failed to tip his beanie when he passed Clyde and was caught by an upperclassman, the freshman was required to sing “The Beanie Song” on the spot.
