‘Wimpy Kid’ Statue Debuts in Stamp

Scrawny, insecure Greg Heffley is obsessed with becoming popular. Now, at the Adele H. Stamp Student Union, he certainly will be.

The imperfect protagonist of the long-running “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series of books by Jeff Kinney ’93 is now immortalized as a statue in the Stamp’s ground floor north atrium, near TerpZone. The artwork, sure to attract kid-lit pilgrims and selfie-seekers, was unveiled on Maryland Day, with Kinney on hand to sign books and meet fans.

Greg’s not exactly a big man on campus, though: The bronze sculpture, by artist Allyson Vought, stands 4 feet tall and matches another portraying the hunched-over hero at Kinney’s Plainview, Mass., bookstore, An Unlikely Story.

Kinney gave the statue as a gift to his alma mater. Last year, he delivered the commencement address to graduates, saying, “If you want the kind of success I’ve had, all you need to do is come up with one good idea, then just repeat it over and over and over again.”