Centerpiece of Coyote Legacy Plaza unveiled

UCLA has the Bruin, USC has Tommy Trojan, and now Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) has the Coyote. Just in time for graduation, LTCC's completed Coyote Legacy Plaza was unveiled to a group of community members, trustees, board members and donors Monday.

The plaza sits between the Physical Education building and the soccer field and displays engraved pavers with donors names on them, surrounding the bronze coyote jumping a log sitting on top of a brick bed.

LTCC President/Superintendent Jeff DeFranco told the gathered crowd that the plaza will give students a sense of place on campus, demonstrating a strong school spirit and community connection. It will be a hub, meeting place and a spot for outdoor events.

The coyote can now be seen on more than just the college's printed materials and marketing, it can be seen "on all our hearts" according to DeFranco.

DeFranco said the plaza will serve as both the beginning and culmination of a student's college career at LTCC. This Friday, the graduating class will walk by it as they walk onto the field for ceremonies. He said he envisions the coyote to be the center of a lot of selfies at graduation.

Those in the first campaign of pavers include past college presidents, retirees, staff, business partners. donors and the Board of Trustees. The funds raised from those sales went to complete the plaza, and funds from all future pavers will go to the LTCC Foundation to support student scholarships, the Lake Tahoe College Promise of a tuition-free year of college for first-time California resident college students, and academic programs at LTCC. They cost $250 to $2500 and more information can be found here: http://www.ltcc.edu/giving/coyotelegacyplaza.php.

After the artist, Ronnie Frostad of the Frostad Atelier Foundry in Rocklin, was hired, the look of the coyote was defined. DeFranco said he told her not a skinny southwestern coyote, but a Sierra coyote with a strong face and bushy tail.

"Hopefully everyone will enjoy it for generations," said Frostad during the unveiling.