Ozarks at Large is marking 15 years as a daily broadcast this month. As part of the celebration, the newsroom is sharing archival stories that reflect the depth and range of reporting the program has delivered over the decades.
Today’s segment revisits a story first aired on this day in 1998. Former Ozarks at Large reporter Jennifer Fulford filed from the University of Arkansas campus, where a crowd gathered to witness the final installation of the Fulbright Peace Fountain. The bronze sculpture, a 41-foot tower designed by renowned architect Fay Jones with collaborators Maurice Jennings and David McKee, was carefully placed at the fountain’s center between Old Main and Vol Walker Hall.
The story captures not only the moment of installation—a complex engineering feat involving a crane and an 11,000-pound bronze structure—but also the design philosophy behind the monument. Meant to evoke both a geyser and the concept of global peace, the fountain’s concentric water rings and compass-oriented tower were the result of years of design, fundraising, and fabrication.
The Fulbright Peace Fountain, named in honor of Senator J. William Fulbright, remains a notable landmark on the University of Arkansas campus and one of the final public projects involving Fay Jones before his retirement.
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