The Presidential Medal, which serves as a symbol of the Office of the President of Allegheny College, will be placed around the president’s neck during the installation ceremony and will be worn by the president during ceremonial occasions thereafter.
Originally created in 1987, the medal is based on the Allegheny seal, which shows the sun rising above the College’s oldest building, Bentley Hall, the cornerstone of which was laid in 1820. Two biblical mottoes surround the central image: in Greek, “[To your] faith, virtue, and to [your] virtue, knowledge,” and in Hebrew, “The desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.” The outer ring, inscribed in Latin, acknowledges the founding of the College in 1815 and its chartering in 1817.