A new monument on campus, which will bring together athletes, scholars and other distinguished students is near completion.

The new Circle of Excellence monument will be located on the east side of Amon G. Carter Stadium in Frog Alley. 

Workers are putting the final touches on the monument, Kristi Hoban, Associate Vice Chancellor of alumni relations, said.

Hoban, who is in charge of the unveiling ceremony, said while she believes the project is almost complete, a dedication will probably not happen until late spring 2013.

The Circle of Excellence is a gift from the university's fraternities and sororities in honor of the 50 years of Greek life at the university, Don Mills, former Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, said.

These fraternities and sororities, which make up 47 percent of the undergraduate population according to TCU's website, helped raise over $300,000 for the monument, Mills said.

The final budget totaled about $450,000, with the university putting an additional $150,000 forward, Harold Leeman, associate director of major projects, said in a June article on TCU 360. 

Mills said the idea for the monument originally stemmed from an idea of former TCU Athletic Director Eric Hyman.

Hyman, who is now athletic director at Texas A&M, served as the athletic director for the university from 1997 to 2005. He thought of building the Circle of Excellence to honor only the school's athletes, Mills said.

However, Mills, along with a board that included Vice Chancellor Kathy Cavins-Tull, decided they wanted to include all types of excellence.

“We have students who are performing at a high level in a lot of fields, from a lot of backgrounds,” Mills said. “The idea was to not limit it to any particular kind of excellence.”

The board debated on whether to honor specific individuals or categories of excellence, Mills said. They ultimately decided not to risk leaving anyone out and to honor categories instead of individuals.

Cavins-Tull said the monument was much overdue.

“It’s like apple pie and grandma," Cavins-Tull said via email. "What's not to love about recognizing excellence in scholarship, leadership and athletics?” 

Mills added that they left room to add "future excellence" to the monument.