Reagan’s place on the Quad is now empty as the college prepares to begin construction.
Isaac Green | Collegian

Maintenance workers removed the Ronald Reagan statue from its position between the Dow Hotel and Christ Chapel last week. It is now in storage, awaiting a new location as the college prepares to build the Diana Davis Spencer Graduate School of Education, according to Executive Director of Facilities & Capital Projects Dave Billington.

Construction begins Saturday, March 9, so access to the north quad will be restricted. 

Hillsdale College dedicated the statue, sculpted by former Associate Professor of Art Anthony Frudakis, in 2011 in honor of the centennial of the 40th president’s birthday. Reagan gave a speech at Hillsdale titled “Whatever Happened to Free Enterprise?” in November 1977. 

Hillsdale President Larry Arnn told The Collegian the Reagan statue serves as a reminder of one of the college’s four pillars: freedom. 

“Among the presidents in this age, the age of modern war and ever-expanding government, Reagan is the best president,” Arnn said. “He had a relationship with the college for decades, and spoke of it several times, including when he visited us here.”

A 1984 photo of Reagan leaning against a White House colonnade inspired the statue. 

Sophomore Francesca Federici said she wishes she appreciated the Reagan statue more now that he is gone.  

“It looks a little odd having a nice brick walkway with a nook for a statue and no statue in sight,” she said. “I have many good memories walking by that statue.” 

Professor of History Brad Birzer said he believes Reagan is one of America’s three greatest presidents, along with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

“Reagan was the Ray Bradbury of 20th-century politics — everything he touched became enchanted in some way,” Birzer said. “I certainly see him as the victor of the Cold War, waging the war not with bullets but with an understanding of the dignity of the human person.”

The statue of Reagan is one of eight on the college’s Liberty Walk, which also includes statues of Winston Churchill, Frederick Douglass, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, James Madison, Margaret Thatcher, and George Washington.