BOISE -- A new statue of Steve Appleton has been unveiled on the Boise State University campus.
The nine-foot-tall bronze sculpture of the late Micron CEO and Boise State alumnus now stands in a courtyard outside the east entrance to the Micron Business and Economics Building.
Before his death in a plane crash in 2012, Appleton led the funding campaign for the building and made a major gift to that effort.
Three decades earlier, Appleton was a business student and tennis player at Boise State.
Boise State and Micron held a national competition to hire the artist for this statue and chose Benjamin Victor.
Victor says he worked on the project for about a year, putting in 10- to 12-hour days.
"It really meant a lot to me," Victor said. "I got really close with the family, and I have, like, a bond there, a good relationship with them through this project, so it really was a great way to sort of build that bridge through his legacy, which will last forever."
Victor moved to Boise from South Dakota as he finished the Appleton statue. He is now based at Boise State University as a distinguished artist in residence.
He continues to work on sculpture pieces around the nation, including the Indiana Veterans Families Memorial.
