A Brief History
Port Deposit, Maryland, was determined that scholastic achievement
of students in secondary schools should be accorded as much
recognition as that given to other accomplishments. He envisioned
a Society, modeled on Phi Beta Kappa, which would encourage and
recognize true scholarship. Therefore, Dr. Harris with the Phi
Beta Kappa members of the Tome School faculty - Messrs. Curran,
Ewing, Rich, and Tunstall - organized an interscholastic
scholarship fraternity. At the first meeting in May 1906, officers
were elected and conditions were defined under which new chapters
could be formed. The name Alpha Delta Tau Fraternity was adopted.
The words Areté, Diké, and Timé were chosen
for the Society's motto. Dr. Harris, who was elected President at
this 1906 meeting, held that office until his death in 1935. The
strong position of the Society today can be attributed to his
long-standing dedication.
should be established only in schools of superior academic
quality, the group moved slowly in granting chapters. By December
1908, charters had been granted to Tome, Phillips Exeter, Phillips
Academy, Evanston, Penn Charter, Centenary Collegiate, and
Brooklyn Polytechnic, all schools for boys. The fraternity held
its first General Convention in December 1908.
from the original objective of the founder - namely, the
recognition of superior scholarship. Ten years later, Greek letter
societies at the secondary school level were becoming primarily
social groups. For this reason the name of the fraternity was
changed from Alpha Delta Tau to the Cum Laude Society. At this
time the Society was incorporated under the laws of the state of
Maryland.
in qualifications for membership - membership was extended to
juniors and to girls' schools, although the first coeducational
school had been enrolled in 1908. The increase in number of
chapters in the Society necessitated a division of chapters into
districts, which held annual meetings between Triennial
Conventions.
celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Society at the Tome
School with the unveiling of a memorial tablet. Twenty-five years
later the fiftieth anniversary was held at Phillips Exeter, at
which time there were 163 chapters.
and Regents have made several major changes. Conventions were no
longer short, one-day business sessions, held in New York City.
For thirty years the location shifted around the country in order
to encourage participation from all districts. Conventions moved
from Exeter in 1956 to Philadelphia, Culver, Washington, D.C.,
Cambridge, Chicago, Princeton, Monterey, Williamsburg, Newton,
Baltimore, Long Beach, Atlanta and Indianapolis.
changed nature from brief business meetings to longer sessions
discussing societal issues and including short meetings to elect
officers and to conduct general business.
1996
Institutions
Educational, Personal, and
- Interpersonal Lives in the Mid-1970's
Is the Motto still relevant?
- The Legal and Judicial Scene;
- The Social Scene; The Educational Scene
- Meeting Changing Moral and Ethical Concerns;
- The Computer and Its Uses
downlink)
The Society held Triennial gatherings from 1908 until 1996.
Following that, the Officers and Regents created a new format on a
pilot basis, and then adopted it for the Society: The Officers and
Regents welcomed eight Chapter Secretaries to an extended Long
Range Planning meeting, and it was determined that this format
should replace the traditional Triennial. Each time the Society
enters into a Long Range Planning process, eight chapter
secretaries (one from each region) will be invited at Society
expense, to join the Officers and Regents for a combined annual
meeting/General Convention. The Society will continue to hold a
General Convention every three years, per the Constitution. An
announcement and invitation to said meeting and an opportunity to
vote via proxy will be offered to all chapter secretaries as a
part of this traditional practice.
Sincere thanks are extended to these
Chapter Secretaries for their invaluable participation in the
initial planning process:
|
RI |
Hartford, CT |
|
NY |
VA |
|
NC |
Cincinnati, OH |
|
WA |
Milwaukee, WI |
has financed its operations and constant growth solely by its
fees. From 1963 to 1987, the Central Office was located at the
headquarters of the National Association of Independent Schools
(NAIS) in Boston. In 1987, it was moved to the campus of Tilton
School in Tilton, New Hampshire. In 1993, the Central Office was
re-located to Park Tudor School in Indianapolis, Indiana, and then
to Bonita Springs, Florida under the same leadership. In 2002 the
Society consisted of 344 chapters, approximately two dozen of
which were located in public schools and the rest in independent
schools in the United States, Canada, England, France and Spain.
Some 4,000 new student members are inducted annually.
Chapter Reports, it becomes evident that more than nine decades
later, Dr. Harris's dream of giving scholastic achievement in the
secondary school the honor and recognition it deserves has been
realized.
Award
saddened by the death of Mr. Cecil A. Ewing who, as Registrar
General for fifty-seven years, had given generously of his time
and effort to the conduct of the affairs of the Society. The
Officers and Regents established in 1965 the Cecil A. Ewing Award,
to be given at their discretion to individuals in recognition of
devoted and dedicated service to the Cum Laude
Society.
been:
- 1966 Mr. Emil H. J. Rintelman of
the University School-Milwaukee; - 1969 Mr. Carl Wonnberger of the
Cranbrook School, who served for 36 years as Secretary of the
Cranbrook Chapter, and as Chairman of the school's English
Department; - 1978 Mr. Cary Potter, Registrar
General of the Society 1963-1966 and retired President of the
National Association of Independent Schools; - 1981 Miss Mary Lou Culp, formerly
of Wyoming High School, who served the Society since 1958 as
Regent for District V - 1981 Secretary General and Deputy
President General, William H. Morrow, Northfield Mount
Hermon School, who served since 1963 as Regent of District 2 and
Registrar General; - 1984 Mr. Wellington V. Grimes,
who served as the Assistant Registrar General and Registrar
General since 1964 and provided much of the daily operation of the
Society as the Cum Laude liaison person with the National
Association of Independent Schools; - 1987 Janet M. Wittekind who
served in the Central Office from 1964 to 1987; - 1987 Charles W. Swift who served
from 1956 to 1987 as Regent of District 1, Registrar General,
President General and Regent-at-Large, respectively. - 1993 Herbert B. Moore, who served
the Society for 34 years as Regent, President General, Registrar
General and Regent at Large. - 2003 William M. Williams, for 33+
years of dedicated service to the Society: Regent since1971-1972.
Deputy President General 1981-1987, President General 1987-1996
and Regent-At-Large 1996 (to present). Visionary of the Cum Laude
Paper project. - 2008 Bruce and Karen Galbraith for 16 years of devoted service to the Society. From 1993-2008, Bruce served as registrar general with Karen as the central office manager. In addition, Bruce served as a regent from 1990-1993.
For more information about
Cum Laude, contact:
THE
CUM LAUDE SOCIETY, INC.
4100 Springdale Rd.
Louisville, KY 40241
502.814.4361 Fax:502.423.0445
E-mail: cumlaude@kcd.org
-
