Wayback Wednesday: A Scholarly Crest

Welcome and welcome back, scholars! Let’s begin this semester’s Wayback Wednesday series with a nod to the Parkland College Crest. Coat of Arms. Crest… Coat of Arms.

Why the confusion? Well, while it’s always been called the Parkland College Crest, technically, it should be called a coat of arms. You see, the crest is a component of the entire coat of arms, traditionally located above the helmet, which is missing here. The design does still retain the shield as the centerpiece of a traditional coat of arms, so that's good. (And here is where your Friendly Neighborhood Archivist admits that she is, perhaps, a bit too persnickety on the subject for her own good and will concede that modern times have certainly allowed for bending the traditional rules of heraldry.) Anyhoo, here’s your Parkland history fix for the month.  

The Parkland College Crest is the outgrowth of an effort begun in 1968 to develop a college seal. Working with Dick Karch, then Assistant Dean for Student Activities, designers from Josten’s (that’s right, the class ring people) took a list of ideas and included five items in their final suggested design.

The design was finalized in 1972, and the ideas which it suggests were extensively reviewed and written into “An Interpretation of the Parkland College Crest” by Paul Kunkel, while as Director of Development.  Here is the original document: 

You’ll always find this explanation of the Parkland Crest in the college catalog (see page 14), and you’ll see the crest again on the commencement program at graduation. However, your Friendly Neighborhood Archivist knows there is at least one spot where you can find the Parkland Crest here on campus, and it’s kind of in an unexpected place.  There may be more.  Let us know where you found it! 

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Wayback Wednesday Extra: Symbolize the new academic year with your own coat of arms!

This information was found in Record Groups 5-3, Institutional Accountability and Research, and 6-2, Comptroller, Business Office. 

Wayback Wednesday is a feature of the Parkland College Archives. If you have ideas you'd like to see in future posts, email us at archives@parkland.edu. The Archives is open to faculty, staff, students, and the public by appointment.