<p>(Ok, my error on listing Columbia and California as missing…) </p>
<p>Perhaps Princeton was excluded because prior to 1896 it was known as the College of New Jersey, and only became a university in 1900 when its graduate school was established. </p>
<p>I thought perhaps some of the seals in Hutchinson included those of the universities in the Western Conference, of which Chicago was a founding member, but Purdue is missing. (Ohio State didn’t join until 1912, and MSU only in 1949—though not designated a university until '55.)</p>
<p>I agree that Berlin would have made the cut as the model of the modern research university. On the other hand, Heidelberg is the oldest German university. As you mentioned, it appears only one university from each non-Anglophone country is represented, though some countries with historically prominent universities are not represented at all (e.g. Sweden, Austria, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland).</p>
<p>If I recall, Harvard and Yale apparently had places of honor in Hutchinson with their seals being placed over the fireplaces.</p>