The sculptor, Alden Smith, was born in Glencoe, Illinois in 1912 and educated at the Chicago Institute of Art. He pursued a career of teaching art and served as a faculty member at Wayne State. He led their Department of Art and Art History from 1962 to 1978. In that capacity, he played a role in the development of a sculpture program and trained many students in that art. It was traditional for graduating classes to make a contribution to their university. The Wayne Class of 1962 funded this work of sculpture. It represents Professor Smith’s visualization of the process of learning. Alden Smith died in 1993 at age 82. I do not know of the public exposition of any of his other works.