The Seal
The Augustana Seal is composed of a circle representing eternity, a triangle representing the Trinity, and a book which is the Bible. The “cross” running through the book is the Chi Rho (the monogram and symbol formed from the first two letters “X” and “P” of the Greek word for Christ). The letters VDMA are symbolic of the College motto “VERBUM DEI MANET IN AETERNUM” or “The Word of God endures forever.” The letters on either side of the Bible are the Alpha and Omega of the Greek alphabet symbolizing the beginning and the end. The lamp is the Lamp of Knowledge. The three dates represent the founding dates of the College: 1860, the founding of the College in Illinois; 1889, the founding of the Lutheran Normal School in Sioux Falls; 1918, the merger of the two schools to become Augustana College. The name Augustana is drawn from the origin of the Lutheran Church in the Augsburg Confession in 1530 during the time of the Reformation. The Latin designation of this document was the Confessio Augustana. This seal was designed by Ogden Dalrymple, Professor of Art from 1946-1991.