Seals and Coat of Arms


The university seal is reserved for use by the president, the Board of Trustees, and in commencement materials. The president’s seal is reserved for the Office of the President. The coat of arms is no longer in use.

University Seal

presidential and university seals of emory

The university seal was officially adopted by the Board of Trustees in 1950. It was adapted from an earlier version developed in 1915 by H. H. Stone, a mathematics teacher, librarian, and treasurer of Emory College. That seal marked the chartering of the university and the school’s move from Oxford to Atlanta. The university seal includes an interpretation of the Emory wordmark and a crossed torch and trumpet representing the light and the dissemination of knowledge, respectively. Symbolizing the university’s two aims, to discover and proclaim knowledge, the seals are encircled by the university’s motto, Cor prudentis possidebit scientiam (“The wise heart seeks knowledge”). This motto was first used by Emory in 1890.


Do Not Alter

Policies and procedures do not support the creation of seal logo designs for Emory schools or entities. Per logo use standards, combining the Emory shield in a shape or with text is altering an Emory logo and is not in line with logo use standards. For additional information please see logo use standards.

Coat of Arms

The coat of arms was commissioned by former Emory President James Laney in 1978 and was designed by Professor George Cuttino, who was then the university’s chief marshal and a professor of medieval history. The coat of arms has the torch and trumpet crossed on the shield, much as we see them today, with the lamp of learning above the shield and the motto underneath. 

This historical Emory design integrates an earlier rendering of the torch and trumpet as well as the Emory wordmark. A display of the coat of arms can be found in the Miller-Ward Alumni House as a wood relief accenting the fireplace. There is also a beautifully detailed stained-glass window that features it. These are two historical representations of the coat of arms on campus, both of which document Emory’s visual history. 

The Emory shield now has evolved from the coat of arms and has replaced it as a primary element of the current Emory visual brand strategy. The Emory wordmark was retooled in 1999. 

The coat of arms is no longer used.