As a maturing institution, Washington State University Vancouver is carving out its own identity and traditions.
A primary example was part of Saturday’s commencement: a symbol of academic pomp that looks a lot like a shovel.
It is WSU Vancouver’s mace, and it was carried by Elizabeth Soliday, chairwoman of the Council of Faculty Governance.
The mace provides a signature tradition within a statewide college system. And that’s what Chancellor Mel Netzhammer was looking for after he arrived in the summer of 2012.
Back then, commencements at WSU campuses were on different days — typically two ceremonies on one weekend and two more on the following weekend.
“The president and top-level administrators could make it to all of them,” said Nancy Youlden, WSU Vancouver vice chancellor. “There was one university mace, and a person would bring it from Pullman to here for commencement” in Vancouver.
Netzhammer figured that WSU Vancouver was big enough to stand on its own and not be the westernmost stop on a statewide commencement tour.
“The decision to move all of the commencements to the same day meant that we had the necessity, but more importantly, the opportunity to come up with our own symbols. The decision to commission a mace was an important piece in establishing our own commencement,” Netzhammer said.
The mace traces its DNA back to medieval warfare. But in academic circles, it’s strictly ceremonial. Depending on design elements, it can wind up being more artwork than weaponry.
That actually was a topic on campus, Netzhammer said in an email.
“We had some interesting internal conversations. Some colleagues raised the question whether a symbol of war, which a mace is, was still appropriate for a university graduation.
“Interestingly, the shovel that was used at the groundbreaking for our campus was one of the sources of inspiration for the mace, so its roots are beautifully ambiguous. Whether we should duplicate the Pullman mace or buy one off the shelf was also a question. In the end, I am very pleased with the direction we went.”
Youlden chaired the design committee, joined by administrator Lynn Valenter and faculty members Gisela Ernst-Slavit and Dale Strouse.
The goal was to have the mace created for the May 2014 commencement. It could weigh no more than 10 pounds and be no longer than 3 feet.
Two regional artists created the mace. David Tuthill executed the shovel design with hand-forged metal.
Jennifer Kuhns used its flat surfaces to create mosaics, including the WSU Cougar logo. There also is a map of the state of Washington and “1989” — the year WSU Vancouver opened.
“In higher education years, 28 is very young,” Netzhammer said. “We are still developing our symbols and traditions that will shape and define us in the future.”
