When the state-of-the-art Constant Convocation Center opens this fall, Old Dominion will have a sparkling new gem on campus. Inside the building, however, will be another precious gem. On display in the lobby will be a 3,855.57-carat blue topaz, donated to the university by Arthur Abbitt Kirk, M.D., his wife, Marie Lucille Linge Kirk, and their children Arthur Russell Kirk and Ann Marie Kirk.

The Kirks, who live in Portsmouth, nicknamed the stone "Big Blue" - like Old Dominion's mascot. Another of their sons, William Abbitt Kirk, was a 1979 graduate of the university's bachelor of science in civil engineering program. He died in 1984, and it is in his honor that his family made the gift.

The Kirks also want "Big Blue" to honor "all other average and below average struggling students, for without them some colleges and universities would not exist."

The gem is valued at nearly $38,000, but it is just a portion of the original 10-pound stone found about 400 miles north of Rio de Janeiro. The stone was cut in half by Dr. Kirk, using a diamond saw. One half was given to the mineral museum at Virginia Tech. The remaining half was cut in two, and it is one of these gems that was given to Old Dominion.

Although topaz is commonly thought of as a yellow stone, the crystal can be treated and heated to create a brilliant blue color.