Ohio-born James A. Garfield didn't make it a year into his first term as U.S. president before he was assassinated.

And a larger-than-life statue of the 20th president didn't last a week on Hiram College's campus before someone stole its head.

Visitors to campus on Thursday admired the 95-year-old sandstone likeness of Garfield before and after a dedication ceremony at the school's Garfield Institute for Public Leadership.

The next morning, the statue was discovered decapitated, the head nowhere to be found, college spokesman Shawn Brown said Saturday.

Because sandstone is brittle, officials theorize that someone climbed the statue, rocked Garfield's head back and forth until the neck snapped and then spirited away the weighty orb.

Hiram police are investigating, but there are no leads, Brown said. He dismissed theories that students -- overcome by spring fever or this weekend's commencement ceremonies -- may have been behind the act.

School Trustee Paul Martin bought the statue at an auction in southern Ohio and gave it to the school a few months ago. With its head, the piece was valued between $20,000 and $30,000, Brown said.

School officials hope to restore the statue if the head is ever found, he said, encouraging anyone who knows what happened to call Hiram police at 330-569-3236.