Nourishing Mother

That's what Alma Mater means. 
No connection to the Spanish word alma. Alma means soul in Spanish, a corruption of the Latin word anima. Alma in Latin is an adjective that means nourishing.

The Romans used the phrase to refer to a mother goddess, usually Ceres, the goddess of agriculture and grain from whom we get the word cereal. Ceres didn't keep the title for long.

The Catholic Church loves all things Roman. To this day, the Pope lives in Rome, speaks Latin, and dresses in a style worn by 4th century Roman emperors (even the hat). They loved Roman culture so much they kept all the same traditions, renaming Solus Invictus to Christmas, Lupercalia to Valentine's Day, and giving the name Alma Mater to the Virgin Mary.

Yeah, she didn't keep it very long either. The University of Bologna, the oldest operating university in the world (est. 1088), took as their motto the phrase Alma Mater Studiorum. That is, Nourishing Mother of Studies. Since then, Alma Mater just means the place you went to college.

Different schools celebrate the idea of Alma Mater in different ways, with songs, murals, and statues. Remember Altgeld Hall?

What you don't see standing in front of the building is the Alma Mater statue. Here's a close up.

In August 2012, the University removed the statue for $100 thousand worth of repair and restoration. A previous restoration effort in 1981 included sealing the bolts and joints to keep out water. Instead, they managed to seal water inside the statue which caused so much corrosion that University officials were concerned the statue would collapse and squash a student. Once the restoration experts got it back to the work shop, they realised the damage was far more extensive than anyone anticipated. They promised to have the statue back by May 2013, but that deadline now looks a bit optimistic.

Our old buddy Lorado Taft created the sculpture in 1929.

Public Domain

As you remember, Taft also sculpted Lincoln the Lawyer in Carle Park (Lincoln #5).

Alma Mater, cast in 30 pieces bolted together, weighs over 10 thousand pounds. It features a Mother figure with outstretched arms standing in front of two other figures, Labor and Learning.

Public Domain

Taft, clearly perceptive of the psychology of undergrads, hoped that students would climb all over the statue. It has since become the defining symbol for the university. You can find it on the university website, twitter account, and ID card. For big games, like those against the much loathed Ohio State, officials dressed the Alma Mater in jerseys. At graduation, they dressed her in a graduation robe and students stood in long lines to take a picture in front of the her. It was tradition. This May, the graduating class may be the first in 80 years unable to participate in the tradition.

Students are doing what they can to fill the empty place in front of Altgeld and in their hearts.

pic.twitter.com/ihajU2kS

Heather Coit

There's no word yet on the decision between restoring the statue to the original shiny bronze or leaving it rust green.

Fountain of Creation
Lorado Taft continued working well into his 70s, attempting to complete a monumental sculpture up to a week before he died.

Public Domain

He planned to name this work "The Fountain of Creation" and only finished four of the statues. These statues represented the sons of Deucalion and the daughters of Pyrrha. The Greek myth of Deucalion and Pyrrha parallels the Biblical account of Noah. Deucalion built a chest into which he crammed a lot of animals and waited out the rains. After floating around for a while, he sent out a pigeon which returned with an olive branch. After stretching his legs a bit, he wondered out loud how he would go about repopulating the earth. It's a big job and he was only one guy. Luckily, the Oracle of Themis (who apparently was an execellent swimmer) gave them an easy alternative. At the instruction of the Oracle, Deucalion and Pyrrha threw rocks over their shoulders. The rocks thrown by Deucalion transformed into men, those thrown by Pyrrha transformed into women.  

The sons of Deucalion and daughters of Pyrrha finished by Taft were donated to the University of Illinois. The daughters now sit in front of the Main Library.

The sons sit to one side of Foellinger. They look quite glum, so a student gave one a smile.