It’s Throwback Thursday (formerly Flashback Friday)!
Each Thursday, throughout the summer, the Office of College Communications will include historical facts about the college in The Dome, on Facebook and Twitter. It’s all part of our yearlong sesquicentennial celebration, which culminates in September 2020 when Canisius turns 150 years old.
Today, we flash back to May 1991 when the academic mace was carried for the first time at commencement ceremonies. Created by craftsmen at Kittinger Furniture in Buffalo, the highly ornamented wood staff was presented as a gift to Rev. James M. Demske ’47, SJ, on the anniversary of his 25th year as president of Canisius.
The mace is traditionally carried before official academic ceremonies such as graduation, honors convocation and presidential inaugurations, and serves as a visible sign that a formal session is being called to order.
The staff of the mace is constructed of cherry wood, as is the emblematic Griffin that sits atop the standard. The mythological mascot is stylized with the body and paws of a lion and the wings of an eagle. Surrounding the staff below the Griffin standard is a commemorative brass ring.
Submitted by: College Communications
