By Brett Schlossberg
Woodward has a variety of monuments and plaques commemorating the legacy of people who have been connected to the school. They may honor service in the armed forces, an alum’s accomplishments or a faculty member’s lengthy tenure at the school. In the bullring — the area in between Woodruff, Richardson, and the library — there are monuments honoring each war America has fought in. Dr. Chris Freer, the Vice President for Advancement at Woodward, gives more details about the monuments.
“So we have one that is ‘World War’, and then we have, of course, ‘World War 2.’ and then there’s one for…Vietnam War, the Korean War,” Dr. Freer said. “And then post-Korean War..we put up for Tyler Brown.”
The memorials in the bullring. Photo courtesy Brett Schlossberg ‘26
Monuments in the bullring are not just put up for students who have served. Monuments have also been made to commemorate two of the school’s most famous graduates, Robert W. Woodruff and Michael Carlos.
“There are a couple of statues that are on campus that I think are also really important to acknowledge,” Dr. Freer said. “One is Robert W. Woodruff…It is located right in front of the Jane Woodruff Humanities Building. Robert W. Woodruff of course was the…founder of and CEO of the Coca-Cola Company… so he clearly is one of our most significant benefactors. One thing I’ll mention is that on the bottom of the statue it says, ‘There’s no limit to what a man can achieve if he doesn’t care who gets the credit’. That same statue, there are a couple of them around the city, one over at Emory, one, I believe, at the Woodruff Arts Center, and then of course here at Woodward Academy, so that’s pretty, pretty special to have that statue. The other statue is a gentleman named Michael Carlos, and Michael Carlos was also a graduate of the academy. You’ll see the Carlos name on a lot of the buildings, so he’s also… a tremendous benefactor to the school.”
Robert W. Woodruff’s statue in front of Jane Woodruff Hall. Photo courtesy Brett Schlossberg ‘26
Most of the Woodward community has seen the monuments in the bullring, having had to walk past them perhaps multiple times a day. However, near the History Center, school founder John Woodward is honored alongside a bust of his wife Lucille.
“Colonel John Charles Woodward and his wife Lucille, and …they’re actually just busts from their shoulder up,” Dr. Freer said. “Those are… commemorated every year during Founders’ Day, which is [a day to celebrate] the founding of our academy.”
Statues are not the only form of commemoration on campus. Many of the campus’ buildings are named for chairs of the Woodward board. Woodward’s stadium, theater and chapel are all named after prominent board chairs of the Academy. Coach Scott Crook spoke about this in his 2023 Founders’ Day speech.
“Mr. Colquitt lived a life of service with a very impressive biography,” Coach Crook said. “Mr. Colquitt loved every aspect of Woodward, and as a big sports fan, it’s appropriate that we have Colquitt Stadium in his honor. Ben Johnson, one of Atlanta’s most respected attorneys, led Woodward’s Board for over 30 years. Our theater honors Mr. Johnson…. Robert E. “Bobby” Bowers has only recently stepped down as Board Chairman. Bobby married his wife Cindy in this Chapel, and on their wedding day what is now the Bowers Common Room was the Bride’s room.”
To honor long-serving faculty, the school usually names an area of the campus after them. Many of these areas are the various sports complexes around the school.
“Certain rooms…athletic facilities, these are usually named after prominent faculty or staff,” Coach Crook said. “The Hixon field, Stallings Wrestling Loft… great teachers and coaches who spent decades here.”
The Sutherland Softball Complex is also named after an important family in the school’s history. Sutherland Foods are the company who produce the food served during lunch.
“When you rush to the dining hall on chicken fingers day, you can thank Sutherland Foods,” Coach Crook said.
While all of these locations on campus are named for people in Woodward’s older history, there are still places which honor more recent names. Many of these would be found near the lower school, along the baseball, tennis and track and field complexes. Coach Crook elaborated about these locations.
“There’s the Timothy J. Hamling Track and Field Complex, dedicated before he even retired — to someone who coached or taught many of you,” Coach Crook said. “We also have The Shailendra Tennis Center, the Drucker Baseball Stadium and the Greathouse Baseball Field.”
Almost all of the commemorations around campus were built to be monuments, buildings, or rooms, but there is one that is very unique. In fact, Richard Gresham, the eponym for the chapel, is buried on campus.
“The chapel was named for Richard Gresham, who was the long time chaplain of the school,” Dr. Freer said. “So when you walk into the chapel before you get into the congregation area, right to the right, you look out the window, you can see where Mr. Gresham is buried.”
Next to Gresham’s resting spot is the chapel at which Coach Crook gave his Founders’ Day speech last year. Having been at the school for so long, Coach Crook has connections with many people who have been or are still at Woodward.
“I spent a lot of time walking around campus. There’s a plaque honoring my mother on this campus. There are plaques that honor… or memorialize students that I taught who… passed away, lost their lives in tragic accidents, and so… having been here for a while, these plaques and monuments represent a lot of people that I know, and so it happens to mean more to me,” Coach Crook said.
Woodward evidently has a long history. The campus has a plethora of statues, plaques, buildings and complexes which honor important people in the school’s past, whether they attended Woodward Academy or Georgia Military Academy.
“It’s a special opportunity that your parents have given you and for students just to look around campus and to take a moment to read those plaques,” Dr. Freer said. “And those are people that came before them, and they had a very positive influence on the school and especially those that are in the memorial plaza because they gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.”
