Honors College’s 20th Anniversary: Unveiling the Honors Seal
In light of the Honors College’s 20th-anniversary celebration during the 2024-2025 academic year, the Washington Adventist University Honors College unveiled a long-awaited update to their domain on the 2nd floor of H.M.S. Richard’s Hall—a new, official plaque of the Honors College seal made possible by a generous donation. It was important to the Honors College that the seal be produced in Maryland, and the staff were grateful to work with local craftsmen at Designs & Signs, LLC in Edgewater, MD. Founded in 1976 by master gilder and brush artist, Brendon J. Brandon, their team of three highly experienced craftsmen have tailored a variety of signs and offered gilding services for several restaurants, specialty shops, parks, boats, yachts, monuments, and public, commercial, and residential buildings in Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey. Connecting with their project manager and designer, Travis Brandon, deliberations began on how to adapt the unique aspects of the seal for a 3-dimensional sign.
Shaped in the style of an arch—an ode to WAU’s “Gateway to Service”—and with the Latin phrase, “UT ALIIS MELIORES SERVIAMUS”, roughly translating to, “So that others are better served,” the seal symbolizes the Honors College’s commitment to leadership and service as core qualities of its community. It reminds all those who visit the Honors College of the community ethos that the faculty, staff, and students uphold.
Surrounded by the Latin phrase, within the seal rests a bell wrapped in a red ribbon above a pomegranate. While the bell symbolizes creativity, the red ribbon around it has the date that Honors education began at WAU in Roman numerals—MMIV (2004). Furthermore, the bell represents the dome of heaven above the pomegranate, representing the mundane world. The pomegranate also traditionally symbolizes unity (the whole fruit) in diversity (the individual seeds). Both symbols are often referenced in religious contexts, including the Old Testament recounting that the hem of the high priest’s robes feature bells and pomegranates and the Renaissance painting The Madonna of the Pomegranate by Sandro Botticelli featuring Mary with the infant Christ on her lap holding a pomegranate (since Christ is the master of unity in diversity). The symbols hold several meanings that ask the viewer to consider the relationship between the spiritual and the mundane, and their place and role in the greater world.
After several weeks of drafting and determining solutions for unique design elements, the designs were finalized, manufactured, and installed in the Honors College’s main office. The custom sign has now become a permanent mounted fixture in the space, which is approximately 42 inches tall, 31.5 inches wide, and 2 inches thick. Twenty-three-karat gold leaf was hand-applied to the bell, Roman lettering and detailing on the seven-pointed stars between the letters. The pomegranate was also specially carved to give the seeds individual depth and painted glossy red to provide natural highlights. It is quite a sight to behold and only adds to the vintage academic atmosphere of the Honors College space.
The Honors College would like to extend sincere gratitude to the generous donors and the Designs & Signs team who made this long-awaited project come to fruition!
Also as part of the Honors College’s 20th anniversary celebrations, there will be several notable events during the 2024-2025 school year. Please look out for announcements of events including World Peace Day on September 14, the annual Adventist Archives Lectureship on October 22, an exploration of the new Oxford Handbook of Seventh-day Adventism at a conference on October 24-26, and a 60th-anniversary performance of John Coltrane’s jazz masterpiece A Love Supreme by WAU alumnus Perry Conticchio on November 17. Updates about these and many other opportunities will be shared as they are available.
The WAU Honors College is the only Honors College in the Seventh-day Adventist higher education system. Combining a unique interdisciplinary expedited curriculum, an emphasis on leadership and service, and the rich cultural resources of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, it strives to serve high-achieving students in all academic disciplines. For more information about future events or more details about the Honors College, please contact honorscollege@wau.edu.