Loras College
Iowa
1839
Formerly “St. Joseph’s College” (1872-1914), “Dubuque College” (1914-1920), and “Columbia College” (1920-1939)
The Intercollegiate Bureau of Academic Costume (IBAC) may have assigned St. Joseph’s College an orange with purple or royal purple chevron before 1902, since by that point Hobart College had already been assigned a hood lining that was orange over royal purple, divided per chevron.
A hood lining description for “Dubuque College” first appeared in an IBAC list from 1927, cited as orange with a purple chevron (the pre-1920 school colors). By 1972 the IBAC had updated the colors and was describing the hood lining of Loras College as purple over gold with the colors divided per chevron. Unfortunately, Loras’s revised hood lining was now a duplication of the University of Washington (purple above gold, divided per chevron).
Here the college’s original IBAC assignment for St. Joseph’s College has been restored.
The colors of St. Joseph’s College and Dubuque College were purple and orange. When Dubuque College became Columbia College in 1920, the school colors were changed to purple and gold. Officially, the purple color is “violet”.
Citations in the World Almanac (listed by cover date; color information is from the previous year): purple/gold (1923-1935) (as Columbia College)
