A combination fountain and baptistry is now under construction in Bison Square, and the $300 thousand project is planned to beautify the space as well as make it more spiritually significant.
For several years, there have been plans to create a new atmosphere to the space between Collins Alumni Auditorium and the Bennett Campus Center.
Thanks to more than 150 donors, including Ray and Libby Jones and the parents of Ty Osman, the new Bison Square fountain centerpiece will be in a 16-by-24-foot pool and will be flanked by two smaller, 6-by-15-foot foot fountains and pools.
Lipscomb University president Dr. Randy Lowry said “the Bison Square centerpiece (will be) called the Osman Fountain.”
Osman was a Harding student and member of the Woodmont Hills congregation who tragically lost his life in a car accident last March. His parents were alums of the university.
Lowry said he hopes the new fountain will be a great renovation for the popular meeting area.
“We hope it is the centerpiece of the whole reconstruction of Bison Square. This has been a wonderful place for students to gather for many, many years,” Lowry said. “But, we need to upgrade (the square), and I think a water feature will be something that causes people to come together.”
Though they will look identical, one of the fountains will actually function as a baptistry.
“When you think about Lipscomb you think about the sacrament of baptism being so important as people making a commitment to the Christian faith,” Lowry said. “We thought there might be something more sophisticated than the horse trough we’ve been using.”
He described the baptistry as a place students will be able to see “where their faith has been represented in a physical way (with) plenty of room for others to gather around while that happens.”
He also praised the design as “one that we believe will be the right size and the right energy for the space, between Collins Auditorium and the Bennett building.”
The $300 thousand project should take eight to 12 weeks to complete. And there are future plans to dress up the area with a sculpture, eventually being placed upon the biggest fountain.