Endless hours of hand-carving every detail of the face of a man one has never met is not an easy task to tackle.

But for Thomas Gatlin, it was a way to contribute to his alma mater.

Gatlin, a 1995 alumnus of SIUC’s School of Art and Design, sculpted a memorial medallion of Henry J. Rehn for an inaugural banquet and induction ceremony of the Henry J. Rehn Society in October.

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Rehn was the first dean for College of Business and Administration.

The Henry J. Rehn Society is a partnership between leaders in the business community and leaders in the academic community to help form a bond that would position COBA among the top 50 business schools in the nation.

Tom Walsh, a professor for the School of Art and Design, recommended Gatlin for the job.

I went here, and I felt honored that the University asked me to do this, Gatlin said.

Gatlin received his bachelor’s degree in drawing in 1979 and his master’s degree in sculpture in 1995. Gatlin teaches Introduction to Art and Photography at Paducah Community College in Paducah, Ky.

Walsh, who is on sabbatical in California, said he had confidence in Gatlin and knew he would do the best he could to get the job done.

I was familiar with what he could do from his graduate work, Walsh said. He was the only one in the area who could do the job as well as he did.

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I knew that he was fussy and that he didn’t take short cuts. The medallion came out just as I expected.

The medallion features an upper body profile of Henry J. Rehn with a proud smirk on his face, wearing thick-rimmed glasses out of the 50s. The medallion lays on a black suede background and is framed in an 11 inch by 16 inch mahogany frame.

Gatlin began consulting photos for the sculpture in fall 1996. He spent many hours on his picnic bench in the yard of his Carbondale home working on a preliminary design. The pattern was completed in the spring.

Gatlin assembled as many different views as he could of Rehn before he began sketching the rough draft.

I had been in the habit of collecting old SIU yearbooks at garage sales, Gatlin said. I took time to study Rehn’s appearance, style of clothing and his smile.

I struggled with it for a period of time, but I think they were extremely pleased with the quality because I got into the personal characterization of the dean.

Thirty-four medallions were distributed to people who contributed or committed to $25,000 or more to COBA.

Donors giving between $25,000 and $200,000 received a bronze medallion. Donors who committed to or gave $250,000 and $750,000 received a silver medallion. And those who committed to $1 million received a gold medallion.

Bronze medallions were given to 31 contributors, while one person received a silver medallion and two contributors received gold medallions.

Tammy Cavaretta, associate director for COBA, said that having an alumnus work on the project made the medallions more special than shipping the work elsewhere.

It was more special because it was done by an SIU alumnus and at the SIU Foundry instead of being done commercially, she said. The intrinsic value is worth a lot more than the cost of the medallions being made.

Cavaretta said she and COBA are extremely pleased with the end result.

They exceeded my expectations, Cavaretta said. He captured the personality of Henry J. Rehn down to every detail of his face.

Cavaretta said the medallions will be used for years to come.

I am very proud of the medallions being a symbol of the Henry J. Rehn Society, Cavaretta said.

Gatlin said he would be happy to do a project like this again and that he learned valuable information he can use when he does similar things in the future.

I would be more careful to try to avoid the technical problems, Gatlin said. I didn’t have my full time available so next time I would allow plenty of time to refine it.

Gatlin said he is glad that he left a positive image of himself.

I wanted to leave this behind as a contribution from myself, he said.