Washington State University Vancouver has issued a request for proposal to hire an artist to create a mace to be used at official university ceremonies such as commencement.
A mace is a custom-made piece of art often crafted from historic campus relics. Typically, each component of the mace’s design is symbolic. Campus colors are typically represented. Some ceremonial maces are decorated with gems and precious metals.
In the Middle Ages, the mace was a war club carried by a bodyguard to defend a person of authority. Today, its purpose is strictly ceremonial, and carrying it is a great honor reserved for a distinguished faculty member, an outstanding student or university marshal.
The University Mace at Washington State University in Pullman is carried by the chair of the faculty senate during WSU’s annual procession of faculty members and graduating students at commencement and convocation. The two-foot-long, nine-pound scepter is cast in silver and bronze and features a globe atop a laurel branch. Wrapped in a silver ribbon, it is inscribed with the university’s name. It was designed by Tim Doebler of WSU’s fine arts department in 1986, according to the WSU website.
