Scottie dog becomes university’s official pet and mascot

Today, Carnegie Mellon announces that actor Bill Cosby will give the university a real, live Scottie dog to be the official Tartan mascot. Cosby, a known lover of Scotties, delivered Carnegie Mellon’s commencement speech in 2007.

The Scottie, whose name is Maggie after Margaret “Maggie” Morrison, will live with professor Larry Cartwright, who has cared for five Scotties over the past 30 years, according to Media Relations.

In 2007, it was one of Cartwright’s Scotties, Murray, that Cosby trotted around Gesling Stadium at commencement.

Maggie, who is only six months old, was raised by Sheila Scott, a breeder in Calgary, Canada. According to Cartwright, she will regularly attend football games, homecoming events, commencements, and other university-wide functions.

Beginning today, the entire campus community will have the opportunity to take part in a survey to give the new mascot that appears at sporting events an official name. Students, faculty, staff, and alumni can log on to www.cmu.edu/mascot to take part in the survey and to obtain more information.

The name of the mascot will be announced with the debut of the new mascot costume at 3 p.m. on Thursday, April 17, during the Spring Carnival opening ceremony. The mascot will be present for all of Carnival’s main events.

Jennifer Church, dean of Student Affairs, and Susan Bassett, director of athletics and physical education, co-chair the Mascot Identity Task Force that has coordinated discussion and decision-making on the new mascot since 2006. The Scottie officially premiered as the university’s mascot in graphic form on Nov. 10, 2007 at a football game against Washington & Lee.

Maggie is expected to make her campus debut in fall 2008, after a summer of training with Cartwright.