Each Winona State President, from the time of its creation, has proudly worn the Presidential Medallion. It is more than the insignia of the office. It is a symbol of a people’s faith in education, in the responsibility of the presidential office, and in the guardianship of the University by the State of Minnesota.

In 1967 Floretta Murray, professor emeritus of the Winona State College Art Department, designed the Winona State Presidential Medallion. The 1967-68 students of Winona State proudly gifted this outstanding work of art to the College.  

The symbolism of the medallion lies within the framework of the letters of “Winona State University”, which encircle and bind together the inner symbols. The center of the medallion focuses on an equilateral triangle, symbolic of science, literature and the arts, through whose unity man will survive. Within the triangle is a circle, as an endless movement of education, which represents the world and man, incomplete without knowledge.

At the apex of the triangle, the aquamarine is symbolic of the Mississippi River andthe 10,000 lakes of Minnesota. The topaz on the lower left represents the golden grain of this great State. At the lower right the garnet stands for the pioneer citizens of Winona who in 1858 asked the Legislature to establish by law an institution for higher education in Winona and, in addition, gave land from the city to provide a place for the University.

In the segments outside the triangle are the diamond-set stars, which shine for the “L’Etoile du Nord” (Star of the North) State. The trees to the left denote the great forests of the north while the flowing lines at the triangle’s base symbolize Minnesota’s streams and rivers. The fire of the opal in the link to the chain stands for the zeal, which supports education, as a social necessity. The purple alexandrite in the chain symbolizes the school color and the pride that the students and faculty have for Winona State University. These gems were given by citizens of Winona and by Winona State faculty members as a mark of their esteem for the University and its memorable past.