About

The Cum Laude Society

An association of 382 chapters, approximately two dozen of which are located in public schools and the rest in independent schools in the United States, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Canada, England, France and Spain. Some 4,000 new student members are inducted annually.

A Brief History

Founded in 1906, the Cum Laude Society is dedicated to honoring scholastic achievement in secondary schools. The founders of the society modeled Cum Laude after Phi Beta Kappa and in the years since its founding, Cum Laude has grown to 382 chapters, approximately two dozen of which are located in public schools and the rest in Independent schools. Membership is predominantly in the United States, but chapters also are located in Canada, England, France, Spain, Puerto Rico and the Philippines.

The Cum Laude logo

Originally named the Alpha Delta Tau fraternity, The Cum Laude Society adopted a stylized version of the Greek letter Tau ( t ) as its logo. Even though the fraternity evolved into the Cum Laude Society in the 1950's, the original logo was retained. It is used on all official publications and on Cum Laude pins to this day. The Greek alphabet developed in classical times (around the 9th century BC) and continues to be used for a variety of other purposes such as mathematical symbols and names of stars. Tau is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet.