The University Seal
Northeastern’s Board of Trustees approved the first official seal in 1917, and two subsequent redesigns of the emblem, in 1922 and 1935. The elements have remained constant since 1935, but there have been subtle changes reflecting the University’s evolution from local college to national research university.
Having been founded as the Evening Institute of the Young Men’s Christian Association, it is not surprising that Northeastern’s first seal was adapted from the YMCA’s original emblem. Both featured a double circle, two triangles and an open book. Reflecting the YMCA’s religious mission, the outer ring of the double circle symbolized life’s completeness and unity in God’s created order while the inner circle represented a wedding ring and its promise of unending friendship and love. One triangle stood for the Christian concept of the Holy Trinity while the other represented the trinity within Man of mind, body, and spirit. The open book on the Northeastern seal derived from the open Bible on the YMCA’s seal. However, the laurel leaves, representing triumph or accomplishment, and the torch, a classic symbol of knowledge, enlightenment and hope, differentiated Northeastern’s seal from the YMCA’s. The name of the school, then known as Northeastern College, appeared prominently on the upper half of the seal.
When Northeastern formally incorporated as a university, the board adopted a new seal to reflect the institution’s new status. The year of incorporation was highlighted in the ribbon flowing underneath the torch and the name change was prominent in the wording along the top of the seal. The religious symbols of the earlier emblem largely disappeared or transformed into something else. The triangles were removed, giving greater prominence to the torch. The book did not open to a Biblical verse but to a Latin inscription, Docendo Discimus, which translates to, “We learn by teaching.” This motto aptly described the Northeastern of the day with its emphasis on learning from teaching others.
When Northeastern University officially separated from the YMCA, it adopted a new seal to reflect its founding year of 1898 and its new motto, “Lux, Veritas, Virtus.” The Latin words lux (light) and veritas (truth) are common on the seals of many universities. However, the addition of virtus, which roughly translates to “courage,” indicates the board’s appreciation for the determined spirit of Northeastern’s working-class students pursuing an education to better themselves during the trying times of the Great Depression. The motto appears, not on a book, but on a scroll with both ends rolled up to symbolize a life unfolding, another tribute to the young people enrolled in the University. For the first time, Northeastern’s home city of Boston is featured on the seal, which was crafted by a famous local calligrapher, J. R. Rosen, who also created the diplomas for Northeastern.
The seal achieved a more institutional appearance by the middle of the twentieth century, when the University was rapidly expanding the borders of its campus. The motto, appearing in a heavy serif type on the scroll, conveys the deep conviction of a serious-minded institution. The seal’s lettering is bold and uniformly spaced, reflecting an era when University President Asa Knowles was changing Northeastern’s image from a technical school to a leading professional university. While the torch becomes more prominent in this incarnation, its flame appears as four perfectly overlapping pear shapes and its rays of light transform into a series of symmetrical lines, giving the seal less of an artistic aesthetic and more of a corporate look. By this time, the wording on the ribbon at the bottom of the torch had changed from the mundane “incorporated in A.D. 1916,” to the more polished “founded A.D. 1898.”
By the 1970s, Northeastern was undergoing significant changes. Under the leadership of President Kenneth Ryder, the University enhanced its liberal arts curriculum, added more programs for women and students of color, created a community development office to improve neighborhood relations, and opened a day care center for the children of employees. Reflecting the new influences of the era, the seal modernized along with the University. The once-bold typeface got slimmer, the rays of the torch became lighter, the scroll curled more delicately at the ends, and the torch appeared to rest upon a small pedestal. At a time when the University’s enrollment was at an all-time high, more bacca laureate (Latin for “laurel berries” and the academic term for completion of a degree) can be seen amongst the seal’s leaves.
As Northeastern embraced a “smaller, better” version of itself during the 1990s, the seal also achieved a more streamlined appearance. The small shields encircling the upper ring of the torch appeared less ornate, the laurel berries disappeared from the leaves, and the typeface became even smaller and narrower. More white space appeared between the words in the outer ring, on the scroll, and along the ribbon. The rays of the torch touched the entire circumference of the inner circle and widened more broadly at the ends, giving the illusion of the flame glowing more brightly against a more concentrated background. Three straight lines converging at a singular point defined the lower end of the torch, as opposed to previous versions, where parallel lines ran vertically until they intersected a ring atop a round base. In this version, the torch is not resting on a small pedestal nestled amongst the laurel leaves, but appears to be rising from the bottom of the seal, signifying a university determined to literally “not rest on its laurels.”
Board of Trustees Chairman Emeritus Neal F. Finnegan is devoted to the study of Northeastern history. These insights into the University seal are excerpted from his remarks to the National Council in 2005.
On March 30, 1917, Frank Palmer Speare became the first president of the newly incorporated Northeastern College of the YMCA. Ten days later, the Board of Trustees approved the creation of this first seal to represent the college.
You can see the YMCA triangle, the torch of knowledge, the laurel branches, a Greek symbol that designates excellence, and the open book—all elements that symbolize perfectly the beginnings of Northeastern.
The motto “Docendo Discimus,” is roughly translated, “By teaching we learn,” a fitting phrase for the Northeastern of 1917, where just nine years earlier our now world-famous co-op program was introduced.
As the ties to the YMCA weakened, Northeastern’s Board of Trustees voted to approve a new seal on December 10, 1935.
Seventy years later, our University seal continues to display the torch and laurel branches—both classic symbols of knowledge and excellence. This seal also carries a scroll, another classic symbol, with both ends rolled up, indicating a life unfolding, and the new motto in Latin, “Lux, Veritas, Virtus,”
I have been fascinated by the choice of the Northeastern board to add “virtus” to the well-established virtues of “light” and “truth” used by America’s oldest colleges. While some translations of “virtus” equate the word to “virtue,” the root of this word in Latin is “vir” or “man.” “Virtus,” then, is closer to manliness, or strength, or toughness: bearing up under adversity, adjusting or adapting to challenging situations in a positive way.
I like this definition because I think it describes our graduates and holds up well (together with “light” and “truth”) as the proper motto for today’s Northeastern.
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