It took more than a century for Carnegie Mellon University to settle on an official mascot. Getting the living embodiment required far less waiting.That's because comedian Bill Cosby is giving Carnegie Mellon its first live mascot: a Scottish terrier.Word of the gift came this week, less than a year after Carnegie Mellon -- which dates to 1900 -- announced that its long-popular-but-never-officially-recognized mascot would finally get its due. Before anointing the Scottish terrier as the icon, a task force weighed everything from robots to bagpipers.School officials have said they hope the "Scottie dog" will engender greater enthusiasm among university students and other supporters. Carnegie Mellon released a brief statement from the entertainer in which he noted the importance of students having a life outside their studies."The dog raises one's self-esteem," Crosby said.The donated dog is from a Canadian breeder in Calgary. Civil and environmental engineering professor Larry Cartwright will assume ownership of the dog and train it in the months leading up to its campus debut this fall.Cosby delivered last year's commencement address at Carnegie Mellon. He'd approached the podium walking Murray, a Scottish terrier that belonged to Cartwright. Afterward, Cosby got the idea for the gift, school officials said.School leaders say 78 percent of the student body favored the mascot at the time it was chosen and 25 percent of 400 alumni responded to a survey believed the Scottish terrier already was the school's official mascot.(E-mail Bill Schackner at bschackner(at)post-gazette.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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