Dear Answer Person,
It’s me again…I asked you a few months ago about the story behind the crests and shields of other universities that adorn various West Campus buildings, but due to some technical glitch, your answer was missing from the suggestion book. Now I’ve graduated and am far, far away from Duke, and the only way that my curiosity regarding the matter of the university crests will be satisfied is if you answer my question on your blog!
As you might know, Answer Person was on a much needed hiatus for several months. So thanks for your patience.
The crests and shields you refer to actually make the buildings on West Campus some of the most unique academic buildings in the South. They represent institutions with significant similarities to Duke’s association, purpose, and ideal. So, for example, the seals of Haverford College (a Quaker institution) and Millsaps College (a Methodist institution) decorate the southern elevation of the West Union Building. These hark back to Duke’s origins as Union Institute, the academy in Randolph County, NC founded by Methodists and Quakers. For a complete list of all represented institutions, I refer you to the appendix of William M. Blackburn’s The Architecture of Duke University (Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1936, 1939).