Mace

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First used: May 1996 (167th Encaenia)

UNB President Elizabeth Parr-Johnston and Chancellor Fredrik S. Eaton in Sir Howard Douglas Hall with UNB mace in foreground, October 1999. PR; Series 2; Sub-series 4; File 820; Item 13.

Origins: The antique two-handled silver cup on the top of the mace was donated to UNB in 1995 by S. A. H. Bridge, the great-great-grandson of Sir Howard Douglas. The cup is dated 1734, with its cover dating to 1728, and was once part of a collection of silverware donated by Douglas to the people of New Brunswick when he returned to England after serving as Lieutenant-Governor (1823-1831). The engraving on the cup and the crest and motto on the cover are of Douglas of Kirkness, County Kinross. The staff was designed and created by Michiel Oudemans in 1996, and is made of butternut wood featuring a book of learning, a galley, fiddleheads, Atlantic salmon, and a book of learning--all elements of the UNB coat of arms and symbols of New Brunswick.

History: Proposed by Colin B. Mackay, the mace was a gift from Chancellor Fredrick Eaton in 1996. Measuring 4.5 feet in length and featuring a silver antique cup atop a butternut shaft , the UNB mace symbolizes the authority of the university to award degrees. It is carried by the university secretary before the chancellor in the academic procession which precedes graduation ceremonies. After the chancellor is petitioned to begin the graduation ceremony, the mace is then set on its ceremonial stand.

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© UNB Archives & Special Collections, 2014