A longtime Mercer University staff member designed and handcrafted a commemorative mace for the inauguration of President Penny L. Elkins, Ph.D.
The piece by Ben Andrews, assistant director of Auxiliary Services, was displayed prominently on stage during the investiture ceremony on Oct. 29 in Toney Auditorium in Willingham Hall. Mercer’s official mace, a symbol of university authority, was used in the program.
“I found my wood turning craft through prayer, and (God) had answered that very specifically and perfectly. I’d like to thank God for this gift and thank Mercer for the opportunity to do it,” Andrews said.
Andrews has been a Mercer employee for 26 years and a woodturner for more than a decade. In addition to pens, his recent projects include wooden fruit, Christmas trees and a hummingbird feeder. He also has been refurbishing furniture from estate sales and dabbling in welding.
Vice Provost Kelly Reffitt, Ph.D., approached Andrews with the request for a commemorative mace, and he began working on it in January. Because of the large size of the piece — 3 feet — Andrews had to research and implement new safety measures for turning the wood on his lathe.
“I wanted something unique. I wanted it to be symbolic. I was trying to keep it simple but also mean something,” he said.
Andrews created a traditionally academic design for the mace and incorporated as much Mercer symbolism and materials as possible.
Two exotic woods — ebony and chakte viga — provide Mercer’s orange and black colors for the top portion, which is circular to represent Elkins as the head of Mercer. A coin with the University seal is positioned in the center.
Below the mace’s head is a cup- or trophy-shaped portion to symbolize Mercer’s place as a top national university. The mace’s shaft features 19 rings since Elkins is the 19th Mercer president.
“I didn’t have any wood long enough to make the staff in one piece, so it was segments, which was a challenge,” Andrews said.
The mace also uses red oak from a tree that was removed near the Administration Building a few years ago. Purple heart wood saved long ago from an old campus sign was turned into dowel rods that hold the various components of the mace together.
“It means a lot to me, being that I worked at Mercer most of my life and both my kids go to Mercer,” Andrews said. “Mercer has meant a lot to this community. I was born and raised in this vicinity, in Forsyth. President Elkins has been at Mercer longer than I have, and she’s been special working her way up through Mercer. It’s an honor to be able to do this for her.”
