An artist has been chosen for the Class of 2003's senior class gift, the historical mural project. Richard J. Haas, of New York, will use oil and acrylic paint on canvas to create the mural, which will depict important people, events and milestones over the past 50 years of the university's history.

"Penn State is a significant institution in Pennsylvania, and I'm very interested to find out more about it," Haas said. "This will be a discovery trip for me."

The mural will be completed off-site and then installed on the walls in the lounge area south of the HUB-Robeson Center's Alumni Hall. It is expected to be completed and open to the public by Feb. 22, 2005, Penn State's 150th birthday.

The murals will complement the land-grant frescoes in Old Main created to depict the university's mission and evolution from its founding in 1855 to the late 1940s.

Haas' murals can be found in at least 25 states and in Germany and Australia.

Seniors chose the gift in fall 2002.