The Alpha Kappa Mu National Honor Society () is an American collegiate

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 ...

recognizing academic excellence in all areas of study.

History

Alpha Kappa Mu was founded on at Tennessee A&I State College. Alpha Kappa Mu Honor Society grew out of an idea conceived by

Dr. George W. Gore, Jr. George William Gore (July 11, 1901- September 13, 1982) was President of Florida A & M University from 1950 to 1968, FAMU's second longest serving president after John Robert Edward Lee. He oversaw the institution's transition from Florida A&M Co ...

, then Dean of Tennessee A & I State College. Representatives from five colleges which already had local scholastic honor societies on their campuses met in November 1937, to study Honorary Scholastic Societies at the invitation of Dr. Gore. The formation of "The Federation of Honor Societies" was the outgrowth of this meeting. The Executive Committee chosen for this Federation was: *Dean James C. Evans,

West Virginia State College West Virginia State University (WVSU) is a public historically black, land-grant university in Institute, West Virginia. Founded in 1891 as the West Virginia Colored Institute, it is one of the original 19 land-grant colleges and universities ...

, Chairman *Miss Georgia L. Jenkins, Tennessee A & I State College, Secretary-Treasurer *Dean W. T. Gibbs, North Carolina A & T College *Dr. W. E. Farrison,

Bennett College Bennett College is a private historically black liberal arts college for women in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was founded in 1873 as a normal school to educate freedmen and train both men and women as teachers. Originally coed, in 1926 it ...

*Dr. George W. Gore, Jr., Tennessee A & I State College The original goal of the honor society was to promote and reward academic excellence among

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

students. Due to its roots, most Alpha Kappa Mu chapters are located at

Historically Black Colleges and Universities Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. ...

, though some can be found at predominantly white colleges; today acceptance of new members is race-blind. A biennial convention is held during odd years, in March, at a rotating selection of universities.Noted in th
Alpha Kappa Mu Constitution
accessed 19 Sept 2021. The Society has grown to approximately 92,000 members affiliated with 79 different chapters. Most chapters are found in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

and

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

, and the majority are at public colleges and universities.Western Michigan University's campus ''Western Herald'' newspape
ran a profile of Alpha Kappa Mu
on . Accessed 19 Sept 2021. Alpha Kappa Mu was admitted to the

Association of College Honor Societies The Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS) is a predominantly American, voluntary association that serves a number of functions with respect to national collegiate and post-graduate honor societies. ACHS coordinates member organizations, faci ...

in 1952.

Eligibility

Juniors, seniors, and graduate students are permitted to join with a minimum GPA of 3.3.

Symbolism

The official colors of Alpha Kappa Mu are

Royal Blue Royal blue is a deep and vivid shade of blue. It is said to have been created by clothiers in Rode, Somerset, a consortium of whom won a competition to make a dress for Queen Charlotte, consort of King George III. Brightness The ''Oxford En ...

and

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

References

External links

*
ACHS Alpha Kappa Mu entry
{{Authority control Association of College Honor Societies 1937 establishments in Tennessee Tennessee State University Student organizations established in 1937