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Amos C.
Rothermel ’86
Principal, 1899-1928
President, 1928-1934
John S. Ermentrout
Principal, 1866-1871
Abraham R. Horne
Principal, 1872-1877
Nathan C. Schaeffer
Principal, 1877-1893
George B. Hancher
Principal, 1893-1899
Quincy A.W.
Rohrbach ’12
President, 1934-1959
The
University Mace,
used almost
exclusively at commencement ex-
ercises or other formal, ceremonial
functions, is a decorative version
of the weapon of the same name
used in the Middle Ages, and
represents the authority of the
university. The new Kutztown
University mace was designed by
Stephen Culberson
’
16, a crafts
major, at the request of the KU
Student Government Board, and
was presented to the president as a
gift on behalf of all students.
The mace is made of walnut from
a tree that existed on Culberson’s
grandfather’s farm. The lathe work
was performed by Culberson.
The dates noted on the mace re-
present the year in which the
university originally received its
charter and the year of the univer-
sity’s Sesquicentennial celebration.
The crowning element atop the
mace is the “keystone,” which was
used in the original Keystone State
Normal School official seal.
Since the inception of the uni-
versity, the mace has traditionally
been carried by a grand marshal
at official university ceremonies.
The honor of grand marshal is
bestowed by the president, and
usually is a tenured faculty mem-
ber who has attained the greatest
seniority.
Academic Regalia
worn at Ameri-
can college exercises today goes
back in its essential features to the
middle ages. The oldest univer-
sities of northern Europe, such
as Paris and Oxford, grew out of
church schools, hence they wore
clerical garb largely borrowed from
the monastic dress of their day.
The head covering was developed
out of the skullcap worn by the
clergy in cold weather. In the uni-
versities, this skullcap acquired
a point on top that gradually
evolved into a tassel. In this coun-
try, it has been replaced by the
familiar mortarboard, which still
retains the medieval tassel.
The gown worn today is the medi-
eval roba, and seems to have been
borrowed from the habit of the
Benedictine monks. Bachelors and
masters could be distinguished by
the simplicity or elaborateness of
their gowns – the masters’ gowns
were often furred – and this sur-
vives today in the ornamentation
found on doctoral gowns. The
wide velvet borders extending
down the front of the doctoral
gown, the velvet chevrons on the
lined bell sleeves, and the borders
of most hoods, are in the color of
the scholarly field of the wearer.
The hood (the medieval caputium)
was originally worn over the head,
and otherwise dropped onto the
shoulders like a cowl. Master’s
degree holders wear distinctively
colored hoods that signify the
wearer’s degree.
The Principals and Presidents