Alpha Lambda Delta
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Alpha Lambda Delta () is an
honor society In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the National Honor Society of the Boy Sc ...
for students who have achieved a 3.5
GPA Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...
or higher during their first year or term of higher education.


History

Alpha Lambda Delta was founded in 1924 by the Dean of Women, Maria Leonard, at the
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
to recognize academic excellence among freshmen women. One year before, Dean
Thomas Arkle Clark Thomas Arkle Clark ( 1862 – July 18, 1932), born Thomas Arkle Metcalf and known as Tommy Arkle, was an American academic who was first to hold the position of dean of men at an American university. Born and raised in rural Illinois, Clark was or ...
had founded
Phi Eta Sigma Phi Eta Sigma () is an American freshman honor society. Founded at the University of Illinois on March 22, 1923, it is the oldest and largest freshman honor society and has chartered three hundred and eighty-six chapters throughout the United Stat ...
, an honor society to recognize academic excellence among
freshmen A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...
males. Both groups operated as single sex organizations until the mid-70s when they both became
coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...
in response to
Title IX Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educat ...
. At the first meeting of the chapter, Florence Finn, president of the society, presented a passage from
Plato's Republic The ''Republic'' ( grc-gre, Πολῑτείᾱ, Politeia; ) is a Socratic dialogue, authored by Plato around 375 BCE, concerning justice (), the order and character of the just city-state, and the just man. It is Plato's best-known work, and ...
in which Socrates asks the question, ''“Will they hold torches and pass them to one another...?”''. This idea, together with the symbol of a candle and the concept of sharing the love of learning with others, caught the imagination of the charter members.Noted i
the abridged National History
accessed 19 Sept 2021.
The honor society soon became a national organization through the chartering of chapters at
Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...
in 1926, at
DePauw University DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the G ...
in 1927, at the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
in 1927, and at the
University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...
in 1929. The first national convention was held in 1930 on the campus of the University of Illinois. Conventions were suspended during the Depression years because of travel expenses. The third convention was held in 1938 at the University of Michigan. A decision was made at that convention to suspend holding a national convention and to invest those funds into establishing a graduate fellowship fund. The first fellowship was awarded to Louise Houssiere for graduate study at MIT in 1940. The Association of College Honor Societies was organized in 1925 to consider matters of mutual concern to member organizations; Alpha Lambda Delta has been active in the Association since its admission to membership in 1939. In 1976 in response to Title IX, the National Council voted for the Society to become coeducational. In 1981, the first two male members of the National Council were installed. Alpha Lambda Delta has continued to be innovative and responsive in recognizing academic excellence by providing Senior Certificates and the Maria Leonard Senior Book Award since 1939, offering workshops since 1978, recognizing outstanding chapters with the Order of the Torch Award since 1989, recognizing an Outstanding Adviser of the Year since 1990, and taking advantage of technology by posting a national web site in January 1997.


The Society Today

Today, Alpha Lambda Delta has chapters at 279 campuses in the United States. Members are invited to join by the local chapters, after the chapter has determined that the student has achieved a 3.5 or higher GPA in their first year or term of enrollment in an institution of
higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...
. The members of the local chapters are also considered to be members of the National organization. The National organization is governed by a National Council, which operates in the same fashion as a
board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
. The policies adopted by the National Council, and annually by the chapters, are administered by the National Office. The National Office is located in
Fairport, New York Fairport is a village located in the Town of Perinton, which is part of Monroe County, New York, United States. Fairport is a suburb east of Rochester. It is also known as the "Crown Jewel of the Erie Canal". In 2005, it was named as one of th ...
. All administrative details of operating the Society are carried out through the National Office. The Society has over 1 million lifetime members. ALD initiates between 25,000 and 30,000 new members each year.


Awards

Each year, National Alpha Lambda Delta awards over $210,000 in
scholarships A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarshi ...
and fellowships to members.
Undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...
members may also be awarded the Jo Anne Trow Scholarship; 50 scholarships are given annually. The James G. Stemler Scholarship was designed for members who wish to study abroad, and 20 scholarships are awarded each year. Twenty six graduate fellowships are awarded annually to members pursuing graduate education. Additionally, members are entitled to wear Alpha Lambda Delta honor cords at their
graduation Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...
exercises. Students in each chapter who have succeeded in maintaining the highest GPA from among their school's membership may be awarded the Maria Leonard Senior Book Award, the presentation of a book with an inscribed bookplate.


Notable members

*
Marilyn Barrueta Marilyn Barrueta was inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame in 2005 after 48 years of teaching. Since 1978, "Señora Barrueta" has taught Spanish 1-6, advanced placement Spanish, and Spanish for Fluent Speakers at Yorktown High School ...
, University of Illinois, teacher *
Lela E. Buis Lela E. Buis is a speculative fiction writer, playwright, poet and artist who was born in Middlesboro, KY. She graduated from Florida State University (FSU) and the Florida Institute of Technology, and worked in engineering for a number of year ...
, Florida State University, writer *
Allison Kreiger Allison Lee Kreiger Walsh is a beauty queen from Miami, Florida who has competed in the Miss Florida pageant and the Miss America pageant. Walsh won the Miss Florida title in the state pageant held July 8, 2006. She had previously won Miss Univ ...
, University of Florida, motivational speaker *
Cheslie Kryst Cheslie Corrinne Kryst (; April 28, 1991 – January 30, 2022) was an American television correspondent, model, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss USA 2019. Kryst was also an attorney and had served as a correspondent for ''Ex ...
, University of South Carolina, Miss USA 2019 * Roberta Naas, Rider University, journalist *
Rashi Bunny Rashi Bunny is an Indian theatre and cinema actress. She has performed in Bhisham Sahni's '' Madhavi'', Manjula Padmanabhan's Hidden Fires, and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's ''The Little Prince'' with director Arvind Gaur. Rashi Bunny was sele ...
, University of Alabama, actress


References


External links


Alpha Lambda Delta official website

Alpha Lambda Delta
at Association of College Honor Societies (archived copy)
Records of Alpha Lambda Delta, Adele H. Stamp Chapter
at the
University of Maryland Libraries The University of Maryland Libraries is the largest university library in the Washington, D.C. - Baltimore area. The university's library system includes eight libraries: six are located on the College Park campus, while the Severn Library, an of ...
{{Authority control Association of College Honor Societies Student organizations established in 1924 1924 establishments in Illinois