 Created this year for the first time in Rensselaer's history, the mace is carried by the chief marshal at the head of all academic processions and is prominently displayed during academic ceremonies.
The modern mace grew out of an ancient tradition to use it to preserve order. It can be carried before a high functionary as a symbol of authority. Recalling our founder's Dutch ancestry, the tulip-shaped top of the Rensselaer mace is made of silver with the Rensselaer seal in the middle of the tulip bloom, which is also a symbol of prosperity. The shaft of the Rensselaer mace is made of ebony.
This new mace was made in the workshop of Rebecca Smith and Anton Pruden in Ditchling, a small village in East Sussex, England.
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