VU dedicates 21-foot stainless steel sculpture at new Center for Health Sciences

November 13, 2026

VINCENNES, Ind. – Approaching Vincennes University’s newest building, a breathtaking new stainless steel sculpture immediately catches the eye. Titled “The Path of Enlightenment,” the towering artwork stands 21 feet 8 inches tall, 14 feet wide, and 8 feet deep.

The unique piece was designed, fabricated, and installed by VU Professor of Art and Design and Sculptor Bernard Hagedorn. While the overall sculpture weighs 3,000 pounds and each individual segment weighs 300 pounds, the elements appear as if they are weightless.

To celebrate the installation outside of the Center for Health Sciences and Learning Innovation, VU President Dr. Chuck Johnson held a ceremony to dedicate the sculpture on Thursday, Nov. 12.

Director of Architectural Services and Facilities Andrew Young said, “Bernard Hagedorn has created a truly brilliant piece of art that immediately captures your attention. Beyond its deeply visually attracting appearance, this sculpture elevates the beauty of the entire Vincennes Campus. We are incredibly grateful to Bernard for sharing his extraordinary talent with the University Community.”

The new sculpture serves as a magnificent focal point for the $33.9 million Center for Health Sciences and Learning Innovation, which opened earlier this year. The “Path of Enlightenment” is located outside the entrance of the center’s southeast side where countless VU students, faculty, staff, and visitors see it every day.

Hagedorn describes the sculpture as representing two figures interacting either in conversation or through "eyelines” as well as the interactional movement of two figures or people.

“I’ve taught here for more than 40 years,” Hagedorn said. “I know a lot about the student and faculty relationship. To me this piece describes the relationship of the teacher and student. The concept is to represent the dialogue resulting within the educational process. In this case, the Nursing faculty and Nursing student engaged in active teaching and learning experience.”

Hagedorn added, “This sculpture is mostly geometric with certain edges curved to suggest the two human forms that are rising upwardly. This sculpture reflects light upward, downward, and outward in a dynamic upward and triangular composition.”

He worked on VU’s newest sculpture from both his personal studio in Wheatland, Indiana, and in the Center for Art and Design on the Vincennes Campus.

Not one, but two sculptures and an exceptional legacy at VU

The “Path of Enlightenment” is Hagedorn’s second sculpture on campus. The first, located in front of the Red Skelton Performing Arts Center, is “Dusk and Dawn of the Twenty First Century.” Installed in 2006, the recognizable bronze and stainless steel sculpture is inspired by the events of 9/11.

“What I like about stainless steel is it reflects the sky, the grass, and all the surroundings, and it takes on the color of the appearance place,” Hagedorn said.

Hagedorn joined the Art and Design Department at VU in 1988 after earning a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from the Indiana University Indianapolis Herron School of Art and Design and a Fine Arts master’s degree in Sculpture from Rutgers University.

Hagedorn has been more than a professor at VU. He was the director of the University’s Shircliff Gallery of Art for 21 years. Hagedorn retired from teaching full time in 2016, but he continues to teach through VU’s Distance Education program. His wife, retired professor Deborah Hutchinson-Hagedorn, taught printmaking at VU for 31 years.

Along with teaching, Hagedorn has enjoyed a career as an acclaimed artist working in three-dimensional design, sculpture, painting, and drawing.

In addition to the sculptures on VU’s campus, Hagedorn has designed and fabricated two other monumental works (a term used for sculptures that are large), including the “Bill Schroeder Memorial” in Jasper, Indiana, and “The Living Well” at the Ferdinand Community Center in his hometown of Ferdinand, Indiana.

###