Love Jack Gets New Home

05.10.2021

From left: Sara Brennan, former UT Dallas student government president; Dr. Inga Musselman, vice president for academic affairs and provost; Dr. Richard C. Benson, UT Dallas president; Dr. Rafael Martín, vice president and chief of staff; Dr. Calvin Jamison, vice president for facilities and economic development; and Rutendo Naysai Kathryn Chando, former student government vice president, attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Love Jack location.

Have Love Jack, will travel.

The Love Jack sculpture, which has had a few homes on the UT Dallas campus over the years, was recently moved from the courtyard at the Edith O’Donnell Arts and Technology Building to a spot on the Margaret McDermott Mall near Texas Instruments Plaza.

The move came after Student Government (SG) approached University administration about moving the campus icon to a more visible location.

“We advocated for its relocation so that more students could enjoy the view and it could be a more well-known feature of UTD’s campus life,” said Sara Brennan, former UT Dallas SG president. “It brings so much vibrancy to the North Mall, and I have already seen more students hanging out around it.”

Gifted to the University in 1976 by Margaret McDermott, longtime champion of UT Dallas and wife of co-founder Eugene McDermott, the 10-foot-by-10-foot red, steel sculpture of a playing jack was created by Texas artist Jim Love. (And if you ever wondered why it’s called the Love Jack, now you know.)

Love’s first sculptures consisted of found items from beaches to junkyards. He later became a master welder and focused on crafting artwork from steel. His pieces have been featured in several museums in the U.S. and throughout his adopted hometown of Houston.

Fun fact: The Love Jack has a 5-foot-by-5-foot sibling — also named Jack — at Rice University.

–Paul Bottoni