Digging around in a box of semi-centennial records I came across a short memo from Historian Sanford Higginbotham to the newly arrived President Pitzer. Apparently we had recently acquired a mace—the institution’s symbol of authority—but had not yet quite determined how to operate it:
This made me curious enough to go look for more information and I was lucky enough to find this explanatory letter from Carl Macdowell, who served as assistant to more Rice presidents than anyone should have to:
Unlike Carl, I have picture of the mace, which is now kept in the reception area between the president’s office and the provost’s office under the watchful eye of both William Marsh Rice and Pauline Warren:
Bonus: Here I am with Carl at a Glasscock School event in about 2003. Note my intent expression: I believe this is when he was telling me where the bodies are buried.
