|
Mortar Board History
National Mortar Board
Mortar Board began as a senior honor society for women
in 1918. In 1975, men were finally included as members. The society
continued to grow and spread to campuses across the nation, and
there are now over 200 Mortar Board chapters. Since the beginning
of Mortar Board, over 200,00 college seniors have been initiated
and taken on the challenges of excellence in scholarship, leadership,
and service.
Members wear a distinguishing symbol, the mortarboard. This symbol
is adorned by three Greek letters, Pi, Sigma, Alpha, representing
the ideals of Mortar Board: Service, Scholarship, and Leadership.
The purpose of Mortar Board is stated in the preamble of the constitution:
| We, the undersigned, recognizing the advantage
of a national union of senior honor societies, do hereby unite
to form a national society whose purpose shall be to facilitate
cooperation among these societies, to contribute to the self-awareness
of its members, to promote equal opportunities among all peoples,
to emphasize the advancement of the status of women, to support
the ideals of the university, to advance a spirit of scholarship,
to recognize and encourage leadership, to provide service, and
to establish the opportunity for a meaningful exchange of ideas
as individuals and as a group. |
Since it's inception, Mortar Board
members have participated in several service projects in their respective
communities. Past National Project topics have included; Organ Donor
Awareness, AIDS Awareness, Environmental Awareness, Substantive
Women's Issues, Children's Issues, and "Reading is Leading."
FHSU Gold Cord Leadership
Chapter
The Fort Hays State University Mortar Board chapter
was installed in November of 1971. At that time, the group was called
the Women's Leadership Organization, and, as the name suggests,
the membership was strictly limited to women. In 1975, however,
the chapter eliminated its single-sex statues and began accepting
men into the organization.
In 1995, the FHSU Mortar Board chapter officially changed its name
from the Women's Leadership Organization, as it no longer accurately
reflected our membership, to the Gold Cord Leadership Chapter. The
gold cord signifies our commitment to leadership, scholarship, and
service at FHSU. Members proudly wear this cord at graduation ceremonies.
If you have any questions or comments,
feel free to E-mail us.
|
