Bronze between us

They stand together at the edge of campus — students, workers, teachers and neighbors cast in bronze, their lives and stories intertwined. There is no clear line separating one figure from the next, just as there is no clear line between the University of Dayton and the city that surrounds it.

“The ambiguity of the people is deliberate,” said Danielle Poe, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “It demonstrates the University and the greater Dayton community are inseparable and exist for everyone who calls Dayton home.”

Installed in early August outside the Roger Glass Center for the Arts, the sculpture was created by twin brothers and artists Kyle and Kelly Phelps, faculty members at the University of Dayton and Xavier University, respectively.

“It demonstrates the University and the greater Dayton community are inseparable and exist for everyone who calls Dayton home.”

“It’s amazing to see how the details come to life. This is one of the unique qualities of bronze, revealing new depth and character over time,” the artists said in a statement. “Seeing the work in its final setting has been incredibly rewarding.”

It is dedicated to Paul Benson, former UD provost and a beloved member of the UD community for 38 years, who played an instrumental role in bringing the Roger Glass Center for the Arts to life.

In bronze, the Phelps brothers have captured a simple idea: that art belongs to everyone — and, like the University of Dayton and its surrounding community, it can bring people together.

Photographs by Sylvia Stahl '18.

A version of this article appears in print in the Autumn 2026 University of Dayton Magazine, Page 13. EXPLORE THE ISSUE — MORE ONLINE