The Vexillologist
by David Gallo
After twenty-five years of tireless service to San José State University, Dr. Scot M. Guenter has been honored with the 2015 Distinguished Service Award. This prize signifies those who have gone above and beyond in their efforts to help the university grow and succeed.
Dr. Guenter has worked diligently to make the community at SJSU stronger because he believes a strong community will help create stronger students. In fact, Dr. Guenter is a renowned expert of sorts on community. He is a vexillologist, skilled and knowledgeable on the study of flags. Flags are a strong symbol of community and Dr. Guenter has spent years deciphering how they come to be and how they are used to motivate groups of people.
Guenter’s unique knowledge has left him with a plethora of accomplishments and awards. He authored The American Flag, 1777-1924: Cultural Shifts from Creation to Codification; worked as a consultant for the Smithsonian; was employed by the U.S. government investigating the misuse of the Teamsters pension fund by the Mafia; started the Raven, a journal of vexillology that is still ongoing; was a Senior Fulbright Fellow at the National University of Singapore; and was presented the William Driver Award by the North American Vexillogical Association an unprecedented three times.
Guenter’s enthusiasm for flags is contagious; he is intrigued by the fact that flags are such a universal, common symbol that at times we may forget they are all around us and influencing us in different ways. Guenter knows that flags connect people in many different ways, and it is perhaps this knowledge that has helped him learn how to connect with others.
The scholar uses is his gifts of humor and kindness as tools to find common ground with people. This has been particularly useful for him on his various travels around the world. Since the age of fourteen, Dr. Guenter has eagerly pursued any opportunity to travel abroad. He believes that everywhere he goes he has been able to meet new people mainly because he puts out nothing but positive energy. Once, he even was able to find common ground with a mugger who agreed to keep his eleven dollars in cash but return his wallet, I.D., and credit cards because Guenter explained to him what a hassle it would be to replace them.
Guenter encourages his students to become lifelong learners and positive members of their community. He believes that this is the key to creating a better world for all of us. Dr. Guenter says that although this work is hard—and even frustrating at times due to the struggle of wrestling with the state budget—he believes in what SJSU is doing and what it can become. His dedication to students and institution alike has made him highly deserving of the 2015 Distinguished Service Award.
