By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A new mural being painted inside Rockford University’s Burpee Center is designed to capture the school’s rich history and promising future.
Angelica Ramos Ortiz, a senior graphic design major and education minor, has designed a mural that serves as a walk past history and into the future as students pass by from left to right. Ortiz started the first phases of the mural last week. It is on the second floor of the Burpee student center.
“I want to inspire future students and present students,” she said. “I was trying to make a mural that everyone can feel represented by, and hopefully I can beautify the Burpee student center.”
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The goal was to show Rockford University from its origins as Rockford Female Seminary in 1844 to its present day and its future.
On one end of the mural are the university’s founder, the Rev. Aratus Kent, along with other key historical figures such as Jane Addams, the pioneering social worker who won the Nobel Peace Prize. The most recent person depicted is Robert Head, who served as university president from 2008-2016. Others depicted are Anna Peck Sill, the first president of Rockford Female Seminary, Gordon Keith Chalmers, the university’s ninth president, and Julia Henrietta Gulliver, its seventh president.
On the other end of the mural is an abstract depiction of the future and its intertwining with technology. There are also aspects of university athletics, its historic campus and the environment.
Ortiz was selected to paint the mural after a competition that invited all studio art majors and minors to submit a design. Ortiz earned a prize of $1,000 sponsored by Rockford University President Patricia Lynott.
Ortiz is a native of San German, Puerto Rico, who came to Rockford about five years ago. She graduated from Guilford High School before attending Rockford University. She plans to become a teacher and, hopefully, create more murals in the future.
“We’re thrilled to see the creativity and passion our students brought to this project,” said Jennifer Langworthy, organizer of the competition and the dean of the College of Arts & Humanities at Rockford University. “This mural will not only beautify the Burpee Center but also serve as a source of inspiration for generations to come.”
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas