The seal of Viterbo University contains four symbols—the cross, a rose, three wavy lines, and a torch. Each of these symbols has a meaning for the university.

• The cross symbolizes Christianity.
• The three wavy lines indicate the institution's geographic location where three rivers join.
• The torch of learning symbolizes the primary function of the university.
• The rose recalls the patroness of the University, St. Rose of Viterbo.

For the School of Nursing these symbols represent themes of spirituality, caring, wisdom and lifelong learning that permeate the undergraduate curriculum and learning environment. The mission of the School of Nursing reflects these themes as the curriculum and learning experience strives to create graduates possessing these qualities.

The first symbol is the cross. The interpretation for the curriculum is one of spirituality, a concept broader than Christianity. Spirituality is defined by the School of Nursing as the lived experience of one's belief, ensuing from a particular center of meaning, bringing a particular quality of energy and holistic awareness to self and others.

Spirituality is intertwined and overlaps with caring, which is the second theme represented on the seal as the rose. Caring becomes an intentional action that encompasses the nurse's empathy for and connections with persons, families and communities as well as the ability to translate this intention into knowledgeable, compassionate, sensitive interactions.

The third symbol, the three wavy lines represents the current of learning that is enduring and continuous throughout a lifetime. The curriculum and learning environment seek to provide a taste of knowledge leading to a life-long quest for wisdom, depicted as the torch—the final symbol on the seal. Wisdom is being able to see things in their entirety. Contributing to this ability to envision wholeness is knowledge, an ability to discern inner qualities and relationships, and the capacity to make sound judgments. Wisdom is achieved through a gradual, maturing process nourished and shaped by experience.

The symbols, representing themes of spirituality, caring, wisdom and life-long learning, together with curricular emphasis on outcome categories combine to create a unique nurse who at graduation receives the nursing pin containing an imprint of the seal of Viterbo University.

The nursing pin, and the symbols represented on it, will be an ever-present reminder of the qualities nurtured within the curriculum and learning environment of Viterbo University.