Delta College and the Greve family gathered on October 5, 2022, to dedicate “The Trophy,” a sculpture conceived by artist Marguerita “Rita” Greve.  

The 78-inch-tall bronze and brown patina sculpture, located on the south side of main campus near the G wing entrance, highlights four prominent figures representing different facets of academics, including athletics, theatrics, reading and vocals. Initially designed in 1976 as the “New Century Recognition Award,” the 16-inch desktop trophy was awarded to local high schools by the Bay Area Chamber for academic achievement. 

President Michael Gavin and Jonathan Garn, associate dean of Arts and Letters, were present to reflect on this new addition to the Delta Sculpture Walk. The Sculpture Walk initiative began in 2011, a free outdoor collection scattered across campus of artistic creations by various artists. 

“I see this sculpture as an analogy of our students. The figures represented are focused on different pursuits and have their eyes fixed on a distant goal,” Garn said. “This diverse focus reflects our students’ dreams and interests and will remind them that they are supported to pursue their educational goals.” 

Greve, who passed away in 2010 at age 95, began drawing at a young age growing up in Riverside, Ontario, Canada.
As her skills blossomed, she began sculpting clay as
another avenue to express her mind’s view of realism.

After becoming a U.S. citizen in the 1950s, she lived with her husband, Lucius, and two sons, Lucius “Ric” and Guy, along the Saginaw Bay – which became one of her artistic muses through sculpting, painting and poetry. 

Guy Greve, the son of the late artist, spoke on behalf of his family in tribute to his mother’s lifelong work. 

“Some of her creations came easy, some more difficult, but she persisted. Persistence was her family model,” Greve said. “She wore it on her crest ring, which by the time of her passing was worn too thin to read from all of the work
she did.” 

During her career, her notoriety as an artist rose. The former Saginaw General and St. Mary’s hospitals commissioned her to create sculptures for their grounds. She was one of the first board members at Studio 23 in Bay City and participated in many art museums shows. Over the years, she participated in one-person exhibitions, best-of-show recognitions in Michigan and Florida, and public spaces encouraging visitors to engage with her sculptures with signage expressing, “Please do touch.”

Guy added, “I hope that as your students encounter it, they will contemplate the lives they will have.”