3. The Texas A&M seal is embedded around campus, but the seal on the floor of the Academic Building foyer might just be the most distinct.
Aside from the Liberty Bell, the Academic Building’s foyer is dominated by a mosaic installation of the Texas A&M University seal that was donated by the Class of 1978. The Texas A&M seal was created by Joe Hutchinson, a former associate professor of environmental design. During his artistic career, Hutchinson designed and fabricated mosaic murals, sculptures, stained glass windows, and fountains for banks, schools, churches and businesses. The Academic Building seal is comprised of glass ceramic tiles on the floor, each of which were hand-laid by Hutchinson and his assistants. If inspected closely, missing tiles can be spotted here and there in the otherwise beautiful design, caused by previous heavy foot traffic over the seal. Today, a barrier surrounds the seal to preserve its integrity.