Schedule of Events

President's Medallion, the Mace, and the Torches

The President’s Medallion

The medallion, which hangs on a ribbon and bears the university Seal, was first presented to then-FSU President Bernard Sliger by the Alumni Association at the revived Fall Convocation in 1988. Richard McCullough is the seventh president to wear the brass medallion as a symbol of the office at formal academic functions.

The Mace

With origins in the Middle Ages, the mace is an ornamental staff that symbolizes the authority of the university president. The Florida State University mace, created from native black walnut and gold-plated silver, was designed by Ivan Johnson, Professor of Art. The woodwork is the effort of James C. Smith, 1992-1993 Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of Psychology, and the metalwork is the product of Florida State alumnus Donald Vodicka. The university marshal bears the mace before the president as the academic procession enters and retires from academic convocations.

FSU Torches

The university’s motto “Vires, Artes, Mores” is represented by the three torches appearing in Florida State University’s seal. The torches symbolize the purpose of the university: to pass knowledge from generation to generation. Each torch represents a unique quality — Vires, or strength; Artes, or skill; and Mores, or character — that exemplifies the university’s values of physical, mental, and moral development.