In 1975 the Delta State University Alumni Association held a contest for a design to celebrate the university's 50th anniversary. Jerry's design won first place and was used for multiple purposes by the university during the 1975 academic year, including medallions, a flag flown on campus and the cover of Broom, the university yearbook for 1975 pictured here.

The description on the cover reads: 

“Designed by DSU art instructor, Jerry Walden, the 50th Anniversary medallion is illuminated by two lights, the light from the traditional flame of knowledge over an open book situated in a field of delta landscape and the light from the sun. The design is superimposed over a fifty-point star made from overlapping deltas in a circle to symbolize the fifty years of Delta State.”