The mace, a symbol of order and authority, is carried at the head of all academic processions. In the Middle Ages a mace was a heavy, armor-breaking club used to protect a king. Through the years, it has evolved into a decorative symbol of office.
The Emporia State University mace was designed and created by Adam Schack, a freshman art major from Emporia, with assistance by senior Shawn Harris and Richard Stauffer, professor in the division of art. Schack’s design was selected by the inauguration committee and the president from those submitted by ESU art students. The two-foot mace features three bronzed students with ESU emblazoned on their chests who hold up a glassblown globe representing the responsibility that the university has to prepare students as the world’s future leaders. The students stand atop three leatherbound books. The shaft of the mace contains copper wheat to represent the university’s connection to Kansas and the Flint Hills region.
The bronze medallion includes the official ESU seal and the words “Office of the President.” At the heart of the medallion is an illustration of Plumb Hall, the University’s main administration building and the location of the president’s office.
The tradition of academic costume dates from the Middle Ages, when academic gowns were common attire in early European universities. Since the universities were founded by the church, students were required to wear the gowns at all times. The gowns represent an adaptation of the cape or mantle worn by church dignitaries in religious processions. The usual color of academic gown is black, but through the years variations have developed in color and style.
The square caps and mortarboards are a prescribed part of academic dress and are all distinctive. Accompanying the gowns are hoods, which are not worn for the baccalaureate degree. The master’s hood is shorter than the doctoral hood and lacks the panels of the doctoral hood. Hoods are lined in silk with the colors of the school granting the degree, while the color of the binding or edging of the hood indicates the subject in which the degree was attained.
The disciplines and respective colors are: