Three years ago, two alumni exited Willard Straight Hall during Reunion Weekend -- and one of them tripped in the entranceway's dim light.

"If you will find a way to illuminate the steps, we'll pay for it," they told Kent Hubbell, dean of students.

This year, should Henry (Hank) Bartels '48 and Bob Staley '57, MBA '59, return for Reunion, they'll notice that their generosity has resulted in four new wrought-iron lanterns -- two outside wall lanterns and two 9-foot-tall, 500-pound, free-standing lampposts -- designed and forged by internationally known local artist-blacksmith Durand Van Doren. The lanterns were installed May 24-25.

Van Doren was commissioned to fashion the lamps to complement the iron gate at the Straight entrance. The 1925 gate was made by Samuel Yellin, considered one of the best 20th-century ironworkers in America, according to Hubbell. Van Doren consulted with the university architects and preservation faculty to incorporate many elements of the gate -- its leaves, large rivets, sun designs and special collars -- in the design of the eight-sided lamps. The lamps took Van Doren more than five months to complete in his Mecklenburg studio.

"These lanterns will create a pool of light at the entry to the Straight, where students can gather on warm spring evenings," says Hubbell. "At night, the lamps will enliven Ho Plaza."

A blacksmith for more than 30 years, Van Doren has fabricated the chandeliers that grace the Straight's second-floor multipurpose room, various pieces in the Law School and the gates to Minns Garden. He has been spotlighted in The New York Times and New York Magazine and has worked with the National Park Service and Corning Glass executives. His work can also be seen at London's Shakespeare's Globe theater, Women's Rights park in Seneca Falls, N.Y., and the historic Great Camp Sagamore in the Adirondacks.