But perhaps one of the most meaningful pieces for Metz is a sculpture he constructed with UM students for Bowers Colonnade on the UM campus (“Becoming,” 16-foot bronze sculpture, 2003).

As the university approached its 100th birthday, the UM president asked Metz to design a sculpture to commemorate the event.

“I was fearful to put a sculpture basically in our back yard,” Metz said, “I felt incredible pressure to come up with a good concept.”

Metz collaborated with 40-50 students over the course of three years to construct “Becoming,” a 16-foot-tall bronze figurative sculpture of two hands, one representing the university and the other representing the student.

“My students and I built it together,” Metz said. “That was very special for them and very special for me. I think it was a good experience for them; it was for me.”

“This is a really remarkable opportunity for sculptors, to have a locale that is public,” said Scott Stephens, UM art department chairman and professor of art.

Stephens, who has worked with Metz at UM since 1983, described him as “an incredible colleague” with a leader’s spirit.

“He’s really a leader in all of his relationships,” Stephens said of Metz. “That’s something that layers on top of what he does. He’s been acting chair of the department before. Everything he does, he takes on a leadership kind of role. He’s very helpful.”

Stephens said part of Metz’s contributions to the UM art department was forming top-notch facilities for faculty and students to utilize, and on a low budget, by fabricating many of his own tools and purchasing used materials from government surplus.