Celebrating the mural restoration
The mural restoration, entirely funded by donors, was part of a broader $4 million renovation project
Bowling Green State University recently celebrated the restoration of the iconic William T. Jerome Library mural, the largest piece of public artwork at the University, visible for miles – now even at night with the addition of new lighting.
Adorning the east and west sides of the library, the multi-story mural was designed by renowned Akron-based artist Donald Drumm, who served as the first artist-in-residence at BGSU from 1965-71.
The mural was dedicated during a celebration on April 23. Drumm’s daughters attended on his behalf. Drumm, now 91, has seen photographs of the restored mural and said he finds comfort in knowing it has been returned to its original, vibrant state.
“It looks great,” Drumm said in March at his gallery in Akron. “It makes me feel good to know some work I’ve done… is still around.”
"The Jerome Library mural is a cherished part of our campus, representing BGSU’s commitment to teaching, learning and research, along with the creativity and history that bind our community together," said Sara Bushong, dean of University Libraries. "We are so grateful for the alumni and friends who joined with us to preserve this iconic landmark, ensuring that it continues to inspire and resonate with future generations."
Drumm recalled spending months sketching, revising and laying out the design on the library walls.
“The design was meant to complement the building,” Drumm said. “It’s not meant to represent a particular design, direction, figure or animal. It was an abstract, non-objective design without subject matter.
“I felt it lent itself better than telling a story.”
(BGSU video/Justin Camuso-Stall '14)
The art gene runs deep
Drumm’s celebrated design embodies his unique approach to shaping cast aluminum and contemporary materials into art, a style for which he is nationally recognized as a pioneer. Drumm has long credited his father, a mechanic, with the development of his unique art style.
“I grew up as a son of a genius mechanic, and I acquired a bit of my knowledge from living a part of my adolescence in a garage and working for my father on trucks and cars, working with welding equipment and being around nuts and bolts and the way things are put together. This has been carried on to my thinking today,” Drumm told The BG News in 1972.
“My father is very interesting,” said Leandra Drumm, his daughter, who co-owns the gallery and is also an artist. “The art gene is very strong in him, but he also has that structural background that helps him to understand how things come together. It has helped with constructing the gallery and assembling his sculptures
“He was born to create.”
Even at 91, Drumm is still a working artist. He spends several hours each day creating inside his Akron, Ohio, workshop, which is just steps away from his gallery, opened in 1971 as one of the country’s first galleries of contemporary craft.
A lasting legacy at BGSU
During his many decades as an artist – crafting thousands of pieces – the Jerome Library mural remains his largest installation. He vividly remembers climbing multiple stories of scaffolding while designing and installing the mural, which occurred simultaneously with the library's construction.
For the library mural, Drumm sandblasted the concrete and used black silicone stain on the design. On the west side of the library, the mural spans 10 stories high and 48 feet wide and is visible from the building’s first-floor interior. The east side stretches eight stories and 48 feet wide.
Drumm was in his 30s during his tenure as artist-in-residence at BGSU and is responsible for more than a dozen additional pieces of artwork across campus, including the 15-foot-tall steel structure near the Education building titled “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” The piece is dedicated to the four students killed at Kent State University during anti-war protests and two students killed by police in Jackson, Mississippi.
Additional works include a cast aluminum relief sculpture inside the Education building and another in Central Hall, which is 4 feet high, 8 feet wide and weighs about 750 pounds. There are also two pieces inside the Slater Family Ice Arena, including a concrete mural on the fireplace and cast aluminum door pulls on the inside and outside of the doors leading to a conference room.
A painting that once spanned the diameter of the Saddlemire Student Services building, which was demolished in 2007, was reproduced and is now displayed in the library.
Drumm said that, as people encounter his art at BGSU, he hopes it serves as a reminder of him. As for the students pursuing art as a career, Drumm’s advice was simple: “Just stick with it.”
Restoring a campus landmark
Although part of a broader $4 million library renovation project, the mural restoration, which began in October 2025 and was completed this spring, was funded entirely by donors.
The mural was last restored in 1995, when the artwork had almost entirely faded from the walls due to exposure to harsh elements. Drumm recalled receiving a call from the University’s architect to return to campus and examine the mural. He worked closely with the crew restoring it at that time.
The Jerome Library, ranked the 11th best college library in the nation, today houses more than 7 million books and digital resources.
First opened in 1967, the library is also home to the acclaimed Browne Popular Culture Library and the Music Library and Bill Schurk Sound Archives and serves as a popular campus study and collaboration space.
The overall renovation project included a roof replacement, window replacements and other repairs to the building’s facade as well as the installation of color-changing exterior lighting to illuminate the murals.
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Media Contact | Michael Bratton | mbratto@bgsu.edu | 419-372-6349
Updated: 04/24/2026 04:34PM