Forward and General Information

FOREWORD

 
This manual is issued as a guide for Presidents and
Secretaries of Cum Laude Chapters.
 
As you can see from the Table of Contents, some basic
information about the Society and its operations is included.
However, the Constitution, historical information, procedures for
applying for a Charter, and more detailed interpretations of
membership as well as an interpretation of the Motto will be found
on the Cum Laude Web Page < www.cumlaudesociety.org >.
 
The ability of the Society to realize its goal of recognizing
and honoring scholarship is dependent upon the effective and
efficient way in which the individual Chapters function. The
Officers and Regents are well aware of the time, effort and care
being given by the Presidents and Secretaries of the Chapters in
this important work and are appreciative of these efforts. They
wish to express their sincere thanks to the officers of the
Chapters for their cooperation, thoroughness and dependability in
carrying out the details of the Society's operations. They hope
this manual may make the work a little clearer and a bit
easier.
 
Inquiries about special problems, or requests for further
information, should be addressed to your District Regent or to the
Cum Laude Central Office.
 

Bradley Lyman, Registrar
General

 

Robbie McConnell, Central Office
Secretary


E-mail: cumlaude@kcd.org
 

4100 Springdale Rd

Louisville, KY 40241


Phone: (502) 814-4361 Fax: (502)
423-0445

http://www.cumlaudesociety.org
 
 
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE
SOCIETY
 
Responsibility for operation of the Cum Laude Society is
shared by the Officers and Regents. The Officers are: President
General, Deputy President General, Secretary General, and
Registrar General, and there are eight District Regents. All are
elected for three-year terms, and may be re-elected. In addition
there may be Regents-at-Large who are former Presidents General
and serve open-ended terms.
 
The daily affairs of the Society are conducted at the central
office in Bonita Springs, Florida, under the supervision of the
Registrar General. There all records and materials of the Society
are kept; financial affairs are handled; correspondence is
prepared for the Chapters; reports are collected; complete files
of Cum Laude members, past and present, are maintained; and
questions of operation and procedures are answered or directed to
the proper Officer or Regent.
 
The Officers and Regents meet each November to review all
operations of the Society and review membership applications and
Ten-Year Reports. Any three Officers, in consultation, are
empowered to act as an Executive Committee between annual
meetings.
 
CHAPTER INFORMATION AND
RESPONSIBILITIES
 
For administrative purposes, each Chapter is assigned to one
of the eight geographical districts, and each district is under
the supervision of a District Regent. Each district has 40 to 60
Chapters.
 
Some Chapters engage in a wide variety of activities, although
the decision of whether or not a Chapter will be "active" is left
to the Chapter. Many Chapters do sponsor lecture series, tutoring
programs, or seminars on scholarly subjects, or produce special
literary publications.
 
The degree to which a Chapter is active in promoting the
intellectual life of the school depends upon the time of year it
holds its elections and the number and types of other
organizations and groups already functioning in the school. If a
Chapter wishes, it may include in its activities students who are
not yet members, but whose academic records and scholarly concerns
meet the standards of the Society.
 
The officers of a Chapter are a President and a Secretary. The
President may be either a student or a faculty member. The
Secretary must be a faculty member and, for the sake of
continuity, the Secretary should be a person who is likely to be
at the school for a considerable period of time. PLEASE NOTIFY
THE CENTRAL OFFICE IMMEDIATELY OF ANY CHANGE IN OFFICERS.
 
The Secretary of a Chapter is the key person in each Chapter
and must be selected from the faculty members of the Chapter. In
the spring of each year a form is sent to the Secretary for
ordering the certificates and pins that are to be used during the
course of the next school year, as is an Annual Report form.
Chapters are asked to return one copy to the central office,
another is to be sent directly to the District Regent, and a third
is for the Secretary's file. Annual Reports have a July 1
deadline. If the Chapter is due for a Ten-Year Chapter Review,
that report form, also with a July 1 deadline, is sent to the
Chapter Secretary in the spring of the year. Secretaries are
responsible for submitting Induction Registration forms and fees
to the central office for all newly elected members immediately
after their initiations.