The Story of Wesleyan’s Seal O
ver the last 121 years, Texas Wesleyan has used a number of different seals on its official documents.
Seal of Polytechnic College, 1890–1914 After Texas Wesleyan was founded in 1890 as Polytechnic College, it adopted a very simple seal with the name and location on the perimeter with M.E.C.S., (Methodist Episcopal Church, South, the branch of Methodism with which the college was affiliated) in the center. This seal was certainly in use by 1906 and may well have been used earlier. Because the seal was used on materials promoting the college, the presence of the M.E.C.S. was of paramount importance.
Seal of Texas Woman’s College, 1914–1934 The year 1911 proved to be a fateful one for Polytechnic College. When Southwestern University in Georgetown was founded in the early 1870s by the five Texas conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, it was to be the premier Methodist educational institution in the state — comparable to Vanderbilt. But by the turn of the century, it had become clear that it would be hard to create such a university in a small rural community. These doubts remained under the surface until a letter from Hiram A. Boaz, president of Polytechnic College, to Robert S. Hyer, president of Southwestern, proposing that the two schools be merged and located in Fort Worth, was made public. The public controversy that followed resulted in the formation of an educational commission in the fall of 1910 that was charged with deciding the location of a new flagship Methodist university and how the existing colleges would relate to it. In 1911, that commission accepted a land offer in Dallas, and Southern Methodist University was born. At the same time, the commission also recommended that Polytechnic College be converted to a woman’s college. With the end of the 1913-1914 academic year, Polytechnic College closed its doors and then reopened in the fall of 1914 as Texas Woman’s College. The first seal of Texas Woman’s College was like the seal for old Polytechnic College, except the name. Texas Woman’s College continued to use this seal until a new seal was adopted in 1930. The new seal featured a drawing of what appears to be the administration building in the center instead of graphics identifying the school as an institution of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. This new seal served as the symbol of Texas Woman’s College until 1934. During the Great Depression, Texas Woman’s College, like the other Methodist colleges in Texas and the nation at large, struggled financially. The school needed more students and income to survive. In 1934, the Board of Trustees voted to make the college coeducational once again and changed the name to Texas Wesleyan College, thus ending the days of Texas Woman’s College.
Seal of Texas Wesleyan College, 1934–1945 The first seal of Texas Wesleyan College was like the seal for old Texas Woman’s College — the only difference was the name. Texas Wesleyan continued to use this seal until a new seal was adopted sometime during the 1945/1946 academic year.
Seal of Texas Wesleyan College, 1945/1946–1977 The second seal of Texas Wesleyan College was similar to the first one. It featured a graphic of the administration building in the middle, encircled by the name of the college and its location. This was flanked on the sides by two flaming torches and on the top and bottom by leafy boughs of greenery with a star in the center.
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Compiled by Louis Sherwood ’89
Seal of Texas Wesleyan College, 1977–1978 On September 21, 1975, Dr. Joe Mitchell, professor of education, sent a memo to Dr. William M. Pearce, president of Texas Wesleyan College, asking if he thought the Board of Trustees would look favorably upon the adoption of a college motto, adding that he “was thinking of some device such as the quotation from a C[harles]. Wesley hymn as [sic] ‘rational knowledge and vital piety’ rendered into Latin.” This quote comes from the hymn Come, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, the fourth verse of which begins with the phrase “Unite the pair so long disjoined, Knowledge and vital piety.” On February 19, 1976, a faculty committee, chaired by Dr. Mitchell, presented a report to the Faculty Council, recommending the adoption of a new seal in which the graphic of the administration building was replaced with the cross and flame symbol of the United Methodist Church in a triangle. A proposed motto, “Scientia Pietasque Vitalis,” was at the bottom. The Faculty Council endorsed the committee’s proposed new seal, and the motto “Scientia Pietasque Vitalis.” I have heard it said that the motto translates to “Knowledge and vital piety” and I believe the above information would more or less substantiate that claim. The literal translation of the motto is as follows: Scientia = Knowledge Pietasque = Piety Vitalis = Life This seal was adopted and began appearing on official documents by early 1977.
Seal of Texas Wesleyan College, Summer 1978–December 1988
Dr. Jon Fleming became president of Texas Wesleyan College on June 1, 1978, following the retirement of Dr. Pearce. Dr. Fleming desired to craft a new graphical image for the college, instituting the now famous “Wesleyan flame” logo that still serves as the symbol of the University. A new seal was created at the same time. This new seal was shaped differently and featured the new motto, but the symbol of the United Methodist Church was removed, perhaps because the new flame logo was based on it.
Seal of Texas Wesleyan University, January 1989–Fall 1997 When the name of the school changed from Texas Wesleyan College to Texas Wesleyan University on January 9, 1989, the 1978 seal was altered to reflect that change. In addition, the date on the seal was changed from 1891, the year when classes were first offered, to 1890, the year the school was founded. In the fall of 1997, the University began using a new seal. This seal, which is more of a rounded rectangle, contains all of the elements present on the previous one, but arranged differently. In addition, the cross and flame symbol of the United Methodist Church was returned to it as well.
Current seal of Texas Wesleyan University Today, the seal reflects Texas Wesleyan University’s pride in its heritage as a Methodist institution of higher education. The motto reflects its goal to help students learn, through the General Education Curriculum, to “integrate the broad scope of his/her learning in a meaningful manner,” to “be proficient in applying problem solving skills in his/her life,” to appreciate the arts, and to encourage them to “formulate a clearly thoughtout philosophy of ethical and moral values” to guide them, and to become contributing members of society.
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