The Richland College Mascot: The Thunderduck

Thunderduck (Thun'der.duk) n. see below

Thunder____ (Thun'der) v. Can be added to almost any part of speech to enhance or increase its worth.

R. Möbius Thunderduck (a.k.a. "Moby Duck") is the official Richland College mascot. All current and former students and employees of Richland College are Thunderducks. Richland 's unique Thunderduck culture, emanating from the campus Tejas and agrarian origins, is rooted in the belief that it is the whole person who best learns, teaches, serves, and leads. Consequently, our programs and services nurture the integral nature of mind-spirit-body, valuing both emotional and intellectual intelligence.

The first Thunderduck was spotted alongside what is now known as lower Lake Thunderduck in 1972, when Richland College enrolled its first students but was not recognized as such until 1974, when the duck's thunder species was first identified.

The mascot's middle name derives from the principle of the Möbius strip, named for early 19th-century mathematician August Ferdinand Möbius, who formulated the continuous one-sided surface formed by twisting one end of a rectangular strip through 180° and attaching it to the other end. With its inner side indistinguishable from its outer side in continuous movement, the Möbius strip symbolizes for all Thunderducks the vital connection between their inner lives of mind and spirit and the outer reality of their lives of service to one another, family, community, and our planet and universe.

Thunderduck Hall serves as Richland 's front door to the Thunderduck Experience of teaching, learning, and community building.

On behalf of all Thunderducks, "Welcome to Richland College and our best wishes for your every success as a result of your Thunderduck Experience!"