SAIT Polytechnic made history when the Canadian Heraldic Authority (CHA) presented the post-secondary institute with an official coat of arms in early October.
Irene Lewis, President and CEO of SAIT, displays the new official coat of arms.
In January 2008, Irene Lewis President and CEO of SAIT presented the idea of getting an official coat of arms to SAIT corporate communications.
Maxine McDowall, SAIT’s publications coordinator for corporate communications, said she was keen to get started on the project.
“The issue of these arms is a confirmation of the important role SAIT plays in education and the contributions we make in our community,” McDowall said.
Lewis said there were a lot of complex steps involved in getting SAIT’s official coat of arms.
After getting the approval from corporate communications Lewis said a request was sent to the CHA. Background information was then sent to them for reference.
SAIT also made an online survey to gather ideas for symbols and mottoes from students and faculty members.
“It became quite exciting because individuals really focused on our education and training,” Lewis said.
McDowall said the motto, Incipio et Erudio (to take in hand and educate), and many of the visual elements that form SAIT’s coat of arms were adopted from the ideas provided in the survey.
“It takes the ideas of a lot of people to capture the academic excellence and philosophy of our school,” McDowall said.
“I'm really proud we took this extra consultation step as it makes the final coat of arms more meaningful.”
The symbol is not going to replace SAIT’s current logo. McDowall said the coat of arms is most likely going to be used as an architectural motif on new or existing buildings. It may also be used on SAIT’s website and as a letterhead.
Lewis said it will hopefully appear on diploma certificates for students graduating in spring 2010.
McDowall and Lewis said the total cost of the coat of arms was under $4,000. This included painting the calligraphy and artwork for the letters patent which is the document that formally grants the coat of arms to SAIT forever.
McDowall said other institutions have chosen to have an unofficial design done which they use as a coat of arms. She said designs can cost 10 times the amount for just the creation of the artwork.
SAIT is the only post secondary institute in Calgary which has been granted armorial bearings. Three other institutes in Alberta also have official coat of arms – Grant MacEwan University, the University of Alberta and Red Deer College.
