The Gates of Learning, 2007
By William McGlaun - bronze, granite and steel
Located in front of the Becky Gates Children's Center
The figure of Becky Gates represents a teacher leading children into the realm of education, represented by the gates.
The symbols woven into the gates are as follows:
The support panels attached to the gateposts contain numbers and the alphabet, the foundation of all learning. The gates include those items that children first use to express their vision and knowledge of the world, paintbrushes, scissors, crayons, building blocks, etc.
A world has been placed in the center of the gates because it is the world of education which provides the foundation and skills to the diverse student body of Texas A&M University, thereby allowing each student to become a steward of the world. The children at play represent that learning is fun and that it is just as important to condition the body as the mind. The children are Brad and Eleanor Gates, children of Becky and Bob Gates and Alexandria McFerrin Bohner, granddaughter of Dorothy and Artie McFerrin. The statue is a gift from the McFerrins to Texas A&M University and the Becky Gates Children’s Center. The teacher reaching for the gates at the level of the stars symbolizes the responsibility to teach the students that the future is limitless and they too, should reach for the stars. Finally, the gates are topped with possibly the highest art form, music, and this music happens to be the first two measures of the Aggie War Hymn.