The Walrus

At Alfred University, our Honors Program is unique: not only do we offer obscure courses, but we also feature a walrus as both our mascot and our seal.

A seal in Latin is sigillum, which is one of the Latin words contained in the University's seal. The founders of the Alfred University Honors Program took a different approach to this word: they turned it into a nickname for our seal, and thus the name "Siggy" was bestowed upon our friendly walrus.

But why a walrus?

One of the hallmarks of the Alfred University Honors Program is the opportunity to take seemingly typical everyday discussions and turn them into intellectual quests. We don't conform to ordinary standards, so why not have a walrus as our mascot and seal?

So we may be the only Honors Program in the country with a seal (which is really a walrus). We named him/her, but that’s a matter of great debate. Is it Siggy or Siggie?