Presentation piece. The Seal of The University of Texas at Dallas set into a polished piece of wood from The Austin Treaty Oak. In 1989, the Treaty Oak was poisoned with an herbicide in an act of vandalism. An extensive rescue effort was launched to save the tree funded by Texas industrialist Ross Perot. Efforts to save the tree were successful, although two-thirds of the branches died, and had to be pruned. The metal used in the seal also reflects UTD’s commitment to expanding the frontiers of the knowledge of space. It contains of a thin section of metal taken form an experimental instrument that flew in space as part of a 1995 NASA Space Shuttle mission. It is the first mace to be constructed for the university.