My Dad's IU Tie

This tie is made from silk. The stitching is very fine and in black thread. It is red, IU red, so probably crimson. It has cream/pale yellow stripes, slanted, outlined in black. On the back of the tie, there is a tag that says "Designs by Anthony" with a serial number. The tie seems to be in perfect condition and has probably only been worn a couple times. In cream/pale yellow print, on the front of the tie, is "Lux Et Veritas". Upon research, this is a Latin term that means Light and Truth. It is about the average length of a tie, around 57 inches. To my inference about it only being worn a couple times, my dad mentioned that he only has worn it twice, both on special occasions. For background on the tie and how it ties to our unluckiness, my dad explained how he got it. I wonder how many other people have received this tie? How much is it worth? Why does my dad only wear it on special occasions, shouldn't he be proud of it? Show it off? Do the colors, besides being IU colors, have any different meaning? What is the purpose of putting Lux Et Veritas on the front?

In 1994, after my dad's first year of college in IU Kokomo, my dad was kicked out of college Fall of 1993 (1.6 GPA) and Spring of 1994(1.3 GPA). He was given a letter that he was released for academic reasons. So, he went to work as a farmer and did general labor for around 6 months. And he quickly realized, this wasn't his goal in life. At the end of this 6 months, he sent a letter to the Vice Chancelor at IU Kokomo begging to be let back in and given one more try. Professor Jack Tharp was the Vice Chancelor at the time, and he took pity on my dad's letter. He agreed to allow my dad to come back for one semester, but my dad had to take the classes Professor Tharp chose. One was a political science class that he taught and the other was a redo of a Calculus course he had failed the previous semester. Professor Tharp watched and communicated with my dad regularly about everything, good or bad, for the semester. After this semester, by dad was able to reenroll on a permnant basis. Professor Tharp watched every course my dad took, and hand wrote notes on every report card my dad got in the mail. The year before my dad was admitted to Physical Therapy school, he was chosen as a Student of the Year for IU Kokomo and had been hired as the Teaching Assistant for the math department. He was accepted into PT school in 1997 with a 3.9 GPA which included retaking all of his failed courses. In 1999, he graduated with his Bachelor's degree in Physical Therapy from IUPUI and graduated with his Master's degree in Public Affairs in 2009. In 2012, my dad received his second master's degree from IU Kokomo. During his 2012 graduation ceremony, Professor Tharp granted my father this tie. This IU tie is signficant because it must be granted by a Chancelor or higher. It it a tie that cannot be bought, but can only be earned. That tie represented the second chance that was given to my father after his spill of "unluckiness" and failure. While my dad has had some hardships in his life, he said this was the point where he knew that he needed to get his life turned around. While it may seem unfortunate that he was kicked out of college, the success he has had since makes up for it.