Sovern Memorial

We were commissioned by the A. Ottavino Corporation on February 2020 to design a memorial plaque for Michael Ira Sovern, 17th President of Columbia University, to be installed in-side St. Paul’s Chapel. St. Paul’s Chapel was originally designed by I. N. Phelps Stokes in 1903. This tablet proudly takes its place among other tablets that grace the walls of St. Paul’s including that of Presidents Seth Low and Nicholas Murray Butler designed by Stokes, too. Sovern’s Plaque is located directly west of the Nakashima Peace Altar in the south transept. Its classical design includes a Greek Ionic Order which echoes the one used at Low Library. Other features include the Columbia crown placed inside the tympanum of the pediment, a Vitruvian wave which symbolizes infinity and a palmetto anthemion which symbolizes victory over death.