Tiberius

Tiberius is the quiet sentinel guarding Lake Erie College that has been through a lot in past years as the four-foot-high canine mascot of the College. The statue originally stood across from Painesville City Park on the site of the Lake County Court House in front of the home of Miss Harriet Young. The original Tiberius was a gift to the College from Young around 1910 and it was installed east of College Hall. This statue was the first version of Tiberius and begins the mascot’s tumultuous journey through the years at Lake Erie College.

In the early 1950s, some fraternity men from Case Western Reserve University “kidnapped” Tiberius I and the statue was never seen again. Rumors circulated regarding the whereabouts of the statue, but he was not at Riverside Cemetery, at any of the Cleveland frat houses or at the bottom of Lake Erie as speculated.

Tiberius II was brought to the College after Mrs. Jane White Lincoln discovered a duplicate of the statue in an antique shop in upstate New York. In 1975, Tiberius II was unveiled and placed upon a cement base to discourage further theft. However, the statue met its demise in May 1984 when late-night vandals removed the statue’s head and smashed the remainder of the campus mascot. Tiberius II was mourned by the campus and community. In October of 1984, 10 student members of the Mortar Board formed a sit-in by the site of Tiberius II in an effort to raise funds for a new statue.

In 2004, graduating students gave the college a small Tiberius III statue that was placed next to the gazebo in the center of campus.

In 2008, Tiberius IV was donated and placed next to College Hall, this Tiberius was placed upon the same base as Tiberius II.