Former University President Richard Lariviere stopped on campus Thursday afternoon to have his official presidential portrait taken. Unlike previous presidents, Lariviere’s portrait will not be a painting — instead, Lariviere requested a photo with University students in the background.
“I find those paintings with one person standing in front of the painter boring,” Lariviere said. “I thought it would be more fun to have students in it.”
The students featured were junior Hakeem Salami,@@http://uoregon.edu/findpeople/person/Hakeem*Salami@@ senior Summer Luu,@@http://uoregon.edu/findpeople/person/Summer*Luu@@ junior Max McDermott@@http://uoregon.edu/findpeople/person/Max*McDermott@@ and senior Brandy Dominguez.@@http://uoregon.edu/findpeople/person/Brandy*Dominguez@@ The shoot took place on the sidewalk in front of Johnson Hall at about 3:30 p.m. Other than summer winds blowing a reflector onto Lariviere, and a passerby stopping to give him a hug, it went along smoothly.
Photographer Michael McDermott said shooting this photo is one of the highlights of his career.
“It’s the first time a photograph has been used (for a presidential portrait) in the history of the University,” McDermott said. “It’s a permanent instillation in the University of Oregon, which is very dear to my heart. ”
Salami also said it was an honor to be in the photo.
“He’s no longer here, which is kind of sad,” he said, “but I got a picture with him — it’s great.”