About Convocation
The Convocation of the American College of Physicians is an annual ceremony whereby the College recognizes and applauds its new Fellowship recipients and the recipients of various honors. It is a ceremony of tradition, transition, renewal, and celebration.
The first American College of Physicians Convocation was held in 1916, the year after the College’s founding. Early Convocations were devoted largely to the induction of new FACPs. In 1924, the first recipient of Mastership was elected; henceforth, Convocation has recognized new Mastership recipients as well as new Fellowship recipients. In 1929, the John Phillips Memorial Award was established, and all subsequent Convocations have included recognition of awards as well as Masterships. From a single award in 1929, the roster of awards has grown to 22. The first honorary fellowship was bestowed in 1950, and since that time, these honorees have been included in Convocation.
The heavy, ornamental Mace carried by the Chair-elect of the Board of Regents was made for the College in London and contains many design elements symbolic of medicine. The mace was originally a symbol of power dating back to ancient Egypt and was in use as a weapon up through the Crusades. Later, the mace became a symbol of authority in government and, in the case of universities and learned societies, of leadership, scholarship, and dignity. The Caduceus carried by the College’s President is descended from the symbolic staff carried by a herald in ancient Greece, which now symbolizes the physician’s calling. It is a slender silver rod or scepter, an exact replica of the caduceus carried by the President of the Royal College of Physicians in London since its founding in the sixteenth century.
In its annual Convocation, the College recognizes and embodies these traditions of medicine and scholarship. Through this ceremony, the College marks the transition and transformation experienced by new Fellowship recipients, Honorary Fellowship recipients, Mastership recipients, and awardees. Additionally, Convocation thereby marks a renewal of the College’s mission to promote excellence in medicine. Most of all, Convocation is a time for the entire membership body to celebrate and commemorate the accomplishments of our many, many honorees and their contributions to the art and science of medicine.
Caduceus
Those who have attended any College Convocation since 1954 have doubtless noticed the small silver rod that the President carries on formal occasions as an insignia of that high office. Between ceremonials, it is displayed at the headquarters of the College, where it may be viewed by visitors.
The caduceus is a silver rod or scepter, 26 inches in length and 17 ounces in weight, bearing at its head the Arms of the Royal College of Physicians of London, supported by four serpents placed at the corners. In April 1954, the Royal College of Physicians of London, through its then President, the late Lord Brain, graciously presented to our College this beautiful silver mace. Its great sentimental meaning lies in the fact that the caduceus presented to us is an exact replica of the caduceus carried by the President of the Royal College of Physicians as an insignia since the founding of the Royal College in 1518.
The following is taken from the handsome scroll that accompanied the caduceus: Dr. Caius, the designer, included the Caduceus in his “Insignia Virtutis” and said: “The silver rod indicates that the President should rule with gentleness and clemency, unlike those of olden time, who ruled with a rod of iron. The serpents, the symbols of prudence, teaching the necessity of ruling prudently, while the Arms of the College, placed on the summit, indicate that gentleness and prudence are the means by which the College is sustained.” It is carried by the President as an ensign of honor, by which he or she is distinguished from the other FACPs, on all important occasions, such as the holding of the Comitia and the delivery of lectures.
Mace
The mace is carried by the Marshal of the Convocation while leading the academic procession, and its placement on the table indicates that the Convocation is in session. Between ceremonies, it rests at the headquarters of the College, where it may be viewed by visitors.
The carvings in the tombs of ancient Egypt (the Old Kingdom, 3100 to 2200 BC) show that the mace was accepted first as a symbol of power by strength and later as a symbol of royal inheritance. It was also used as a formidable weapon throughout history as late as the Crusades. With the coming of the longbow and later gunpowder, the mace became solely a symbol of authority in government and, in the case of universities and learned societies, of leadership, scholarship, and dignity.
The mace of the College, 50 inches in length, has both historic and symbolic features of great interest. The head and foot of the mace have been designed and created by the artist A.G. Styles of Garrard and Company Limited of London, Goldsmiths and Crown Jewelers to the Royal House of Great Britain and the source of many of the most beautiful maces in use throughout the world today. The head, made of silver and gold, exhibits at its center, in modern spirit, the twin serpents of Aesculapius and the Lamp of Wisdom, the Book of Knowledge, and the Poppy, symbolic of medicine and its practice. The rough texture of this central feature contrasts with the extremely fine surface of the mace head proper. The silver gilt finial atop the spire represents the flames of the Torch of Progress. Around the base of the head are engraved the words from the first aphorism of Hippocrates: “Life is Short and the Art is Long.”
The shaft of the mace is made from wood from the Great Plane Tree of Cos under which Hippocrates is alleged to have taught his students more than 2,000 years ago. This was secured through the efforts of His Excellency, Henry R. Labouisse, United States Ambassador to Greece, as a gift from the Greek government. This rare wood was treated for preservation at the Forest Products Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Madison, Wisconsin. Don Turano, the noted wood sculptor of Washington, D.C., designed and carved into the shaft the figure of Hippocrates discoursing to his students under the plane tree, with quotations from the Hippocratic Oath in Greek.