Faculty Color Symbolism
With the help of Columbia professor Ogden Nicholas Rood and Intercollegiate Bureau of Academic Costume president Gardner Cotrell Leonard, the Intercollegiate Commission on Academic Costume approved eight Faculty colors that were incorporated into the 1895 Intercollegiate Code of Academic Costume. Most of these colors were chosen because they had some kind of historic or symbolic association with the Faculty they were chosen to signify. This association acted as a mnemonic device, helping observers more easily remember and identify the Faculty colors in the Code.
A surprising number of colors subsequently authorized by the Intercollegiate Bureau of Academic Costume had historic or symbolic associations with the Faculty of the degree they were chosen to represent.
In a 1909 article entitled “Academic Ceremonial” in an American magazine called The Independent, Raymond MacDonald Alden archly wrote that some of these Faculty color choices were “in part arbitrary, [though] suggested very generally by associations either historic or imaginative, which may or may not seem happily significant to the investigator”.
maize
Agriculture
Maize is the name used to describe “Indian corn”, a staple agricultural crop native to the Americas, but in Scholars on Parade (1969), David Lockmiller points out that “the color calls to mind [other types of] ripe grain” of a golden brown hue.
white
Arts, Letters, Humanities
One of the original eight Faculty colors selected by the Intercollegiate Commission on Academic Costume in 1895. According to an article in the 27 July edition of The Argus, an Albany, NY newspaper, the Intercollegiate Commission on Academic Costume chose white for the Faculty of Arts and Letters because it was the color of the fur edging on Oxford and Cambridge Bachelor of Arts hoods.
spruce green
Audiology
Chosen because spruce green is in the family of green colors used for medical degrees.
copper
Economics
Copper is a metal that for millennia has been used for coinage throughout the world.
light blue
Education
Light blue is a symbolic combination of two pedagogically relevant colors that the Intercollegiate Commission on Academic Costume had already assigned: the white of Arts and Letters and the dark blue of Philosophy.
orange
Engineering
Orange is a hue that is similar to the gold yellow Faculty color assigned to Science. It is also a fiery color that recalls the ancient use of machines to harness and control power and energy.
brown
Fine Arts, Architecture
One of the original eight Faculty colors selected by the Intercollegiate Commission on Academic Costume in 1895. A 1909 article entitled “American Cap, Gown, and Hood” in the Sigma Kappa Triangle said that brown was adopted for Fine Arts in an “arbitrary fashion without reference to historic significance or any particular appropriateness.” But russet brown was the Faculty color for the Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees at the University of London, since 1871 the home of the Slade School of Art, one of the most prestigious fine arts schools in the world. Brown was also the base color of various earthen pigments used in the earliest prehistoric paintings, and bistre – similar to the dark blackish-brown shade found on most vintage Fine Arts hoods – is the color of the drawing charcoal used by artists since ancient times.
russet
Forestry
According to a newspaper article in the 27 July 1902 edition of the Albany, NY Argus, the Intercollegiate Bureau of Academic Costume assigned russet to Forestry because russet was the clothing color “worn by jolly old English foresters who wore it in the fall as they quaffed their brown October ale”. In Scholars on Parade (1969), David Lockmiller says the reddish-brown color may simply have been intended to represent the color of fall foliage.
crimson
Humanics
At the Young Men’s Christian Association Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts, the Bachelor and Master of Humanics degrees involved “four areas of study, namely, Christian ethics, the study of man physically, the study of man intellectually, and the study of man in his social relations”. The Intercollegiate Bureau of Academic Costume considered red to be the color family for degrees in spiritual or religious subjects, so crimson was assigned to these Humanics degrees.
purple
Laws
One of the original eight Faculty colors selected by the Intercollegiate Commission on Academic Costume in 1895. According a newspaper article entitled “Albany Bureau of Academic Costume” in the 27 July edition of The Argus, purple was selected for the Faculty of Law because it is a symbol of royalty and the legal and political power therein. It was also a color medieval alchemists associated with justice.
lemon yellow
Library Science
This color is related to the golden yellow of Science. Rather than “lemon yellow”, “bright yellow” would have been a better descriptor, as it is the color of the sun, whose illumination overcomes darkness – a potent and traditional symbol of the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom through study and inquiry.
green
Medicine
One of the original eight Faculty colors selected by the Intercollegiate Commission on Academic Costume in 1895. They may have chosen green for Medicine because several German universities used green as the Faculty color for Medicine during the nineteenth century. A 1902 article in an Albany, NY newspaper called The Argus pointed out that green was the color of “the stripe in the [US] army surgeon’s uniform”, and in Scholars on Parade (1969), David Lockmiller said that green is the verdant color of life and growth, traditionally symbolizing good health.
pink
Music
One of the original eight Faculty colors selected by the Intercollegiate Commission on Academic Costume in 1895. The pink of Music is derived from the Oxford Doctor of Music hood used in the 1890s, which was cream brocade with a pink lining.
cerise
Naprapathy
Naprapathy is a naturopathic approach to musculoskeletal disorders that is related to chiropractic medicine. In the 1930s, a masonic and academic regalia manufacturing company located in Chicago named E.R. Moore began to provide hoods for the Doctor of Naprapathy degree to graduates of the Chicago College of Naprapathy and the National College of Naprapathy, which was also in Chicago. The color of the velvet edging of these hoods was cerise, which resembles the color of muscle. After a 1959 meeting between the president of E.R. Moore and the president of Cotrell & Leonard, the Intercollegiate Bureau of Academic Costume apparently authorized the use of this degree color for a very brief period between 1959 and 1960.
apricot
Nursing
The apricot is a fruit known for its medicinal uses, particularly in midwifery, the ancestor of the profession of Nursing.
slate blue
Occupational Therapy
Slate blue resembles the color of the blue-gray uniforms of the “Reconstruction Aides” – civilian women appointed to provide “physiotherapy” for wounded soldiers in military hospitals during and immediately after World War One. The grateful soldiers nicknamed these early occupational and physical therapists “bluebirds” because of their uniforms.
seafoam green
Optometry
Seafoam is a color within the green family the Intercollegiate Bureau typically used for Faculty colors in the medical disciplines, and is also a color associated with diseases of the eye since ancient times. The Greek word for owl is glauk due to its large eyes, and glaukos described what the Greeks considered an unattractive pale gray, pale blue, pale green, or pale blue-green eye color. Thus glaukos became the source of the archaic Hippocratic term glaukosis which described a variety of corneal diseases like cataracts, keratitis, and glaucoma.
silver gray
Oratory, Speech
Silver is a color traditionally associated with the god Mercury, whose eloquence and persuasiveness made him the messenger of the gods. From this association the phrase “silver tongued” has come to describe someone with superior communication skills and is without a doubt the symbolic reason the Bureau assigned this color to degrees in Oratory.
olive green
Pharmacy
A 27 July 1902 newspaper article in the Albany, NY Argus says that the Intercollegiate Bureau of Academic Costume assigned olive green to Pharmacy degrees because it is a color close to the green color already assigned to degrees in Medicine. Olive green recalls the dried herbs and plants used for pharmaceutical purposes in ancient times.
rose
Philanthropy
“Philanthropy” is an archaic name for what is called “social work” today (see below). The rose is an ancient symbol for charity and love. It is also a shade of red, the Intercollegiate Bureau Faculty color family affiliated with the religious virtues of charity, benevolence, selflessness, and service to others.
dark blue
Philosophy
One of the original eight Faculty colors selected by the Intercollegiate Commission on Academic Costume in 1895. The Intercollegiate Commission on Academic Costume may have chosen dark blue for Philosophy because some German universities used blue as the Faculty color for Philosophy. According to a 27 July 1902 article in an Albany, NY newspaper called The Argus, the commissioners associated blue with Philosophy because it is a symbol of truth and wisdom. In Scholars on Parade (1969), David Lockmiller says that this is because blue is the color of the sky, which has traditionally symbolized the ethereal qualities of human emotion, imagination, intellect, and creativity: when clouds dissipate, the clear sky is revealed.
sage green
Physical Education
Sage green is a grayish shade of mint green, which suggests that the Intercollegiate Bureau saw Physical Education degrees as a combination of the light blue of Pedagogy and the green of health-related fields already in the Intercollegiate Code. Please note that the shade of sage green illustrated to the left is more accurate than the shade of sage green traditionally used by the Intercollegiate Bureau of Academic Costume shown here.
teal
Physical Therapy
Teal is a shade of green, the color assigned to health-related degrees by the Intercollegiate Bureau of Academic Costume.
Nile green
Podiatry, Surgical Chiropody
The earliest artistic depiction of podiatry is found in an ancient Egyptian tomb painting from c.2400 BC, and podiatric treatments are described in Egyptian papyri from c.1500 BC, so Nile green is the most appropriate shade to signify Podiatry within the green color family the Intercollegiate Bureau used for degrees in medicine. Please note that the shade of Nile green illustrated to the left is more accurate than the shade of Nile green traditionally used by the Intercollegiate Bureau of Academic Costume shown here.
royal blue
Political Science
By the end of the 1950s, the Intercollegiate Bureau had authorized three different colors for degrees in government and political science: the Master of Foreign Service degree used peacock blue, the Doctor of Political Science degree used royal blue, and the Master of Public Administration degree shared drab with Commerce and Accountancy. In the 1960 Academic Costume Code, all of these degrees were combined into one subject category called “Public Administration, including Foreign Service”, which was unfortunately assigned peacock blue. Royal blue would have been the better color to retain, as this purplish shade of blue was created in late 18th century England especially for the gown of Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III. In terms of academic costume, royal blue combines the degree color for law (purple) with the degree color for philosophy (dark blue) – an ideal way to chromatically symbolize the academic study of politics and government.
salmon pink
Public Health
Salmon pink is a light red with a strong yellow undertone. As Public Health uses scientific, medical, and political approaches to provide healthy living environments for individuals within a society, salmon pink may have been intended to symbolize the interdisciplinary nature of the discipline by combining the golden yellow of Science and the crimson of Humanics (see above).
golden yellow
Science
One of the original eight Faculty colors selected by the Intercollegiate Commission on Academic Costume in 1895. They may have assigned golden yellow to Science because gold was the Faculty color of the University of London Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Science degrees. Many German universities also used gold as the Faculty color for Science in the nineteenth century. Gold symbolizes the wealth of knowledge that has been derived from scientific endeavors, and in medieval alchemy the heraldic tincture Or (gold or yellow) was associated with the improvement of one’s intelligence. Another explanation for this color choice is that the origin of modern science is in alchemy, which sought the Philosopher’s Stone that would change base metals into gold.
cream
Social Science
As the Social Sciences are devoted to the scientific study of human beings and culture, cream is a color that blends the white of Humanities with the golden yellow of Science.
citron
Social Service, Social Work
Golden yellow and green are the Faculty colors for Science and Medicine, so the yellow-green Faculty color of Social Work symbolizes the ability of science to heal the problems of human society. It should be pointed out that on vintage Social Service hoods, the velvet edging color the Intercollegiate Bureau called “citron” was not the orange color of the citron fruit, but was instead closer in hue to the mixed yellow and green color of “citrine” in A. Maerz and M. Rae Paul’s A Dictionary of Color (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1930). The social work profession was originally called “philanthropy”, to which the Intercollegiate Bureau of Academic Costume had assigned the color rose (see above).
scarlet
Theology
One of the original eight Faculty colors selected by the Intercollegiate Commission on Academic Costume in 1895. According to David Lockmiller in Scholars on Parade (1969), the scarlet of Theology “has often been held symbolic of the blood of Christ or the robe he wore just before his crucifixion (Matthew 27:28)”, which is why a 27 July 1902 newspaper article in the Albany, NY Argus said that in Christianity scarlet has come to signify “ardent love and zeal for the faith”.
gray
Veterinary Science
An article entitled “American Cap, Gown, and Hood” in the July 1909 edition of the Sigma Kappa Triangle said that the gray of Veterinary Science was chosen in an “arbitrary fashion without reference to historic significance or any particular appropriateness.” That said, when the University of Pennsylvania asked the Intercollegiate Bureau to approve this Faculty color, there were no other traditional primary colors remaining, orange was the only remaining secondary color, and gray was the only remaining achromatic color. Pennsylvania chose gray for reasons unknown, but it is tempting to think that that it was chosen for Veterinary Medicine because it is a common color of animal fur. This was certainly on the mind of journalist May Irene Copinger, who wrote an article entitled “When the Academic Peacocks Strut” in the 29 May 1932 edition of The Baltimore Sun newspaper. She said the trim color of the Veterinary Science hood “automatically [suggests] the old gray mare.”