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Cum Laude Society
Organization that honors academic achievement at secondary institutions From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Cum Laude Society is an international organization that honors academic achievement at secondary institutions, similar to the Phi Beta Kappa, which honors academic achievements at the university level.
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History
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The Cum Laude Society was founded in 1906 at the Tome School in Port Deposit, Maryland as the Alpha Delta Tau fraternity.[1][2] Its founder was Dr. A. W. Harris, then director of the Tome School.[3] It was established to encourage and recognize scholastic achievement of secondary school students.[3][2] Harris also wanted to encourage community and alumni support for secondary schools.[3]
Alpha Delta Tau was created to be similar to the collegiate society, Phi Beta Kappa.[4][2] It was the first organization of its type for secondary schools in the United States.[3] Only the top fifth of a school senior class was eligible for membership in the fraternity.[5][2] Originally, it admitted both students and faculty.[3] Its first president was Robert W. Tunstall, head of the ancient languages department at Tome.[3]
By December 1908, the society had established chapters at Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute, Centenary Collegiate Institute, the Evanston Academy, Phillips Academy, Phillips Exeter Academy, and William Penn Charter School.[6] The society held its first national convention at Boston University in January 1909.[5] Delegates attended from Tome School, Evanston Academy, Phillips Exeter Academy, and William Penn Charter School.[5] Harris, then president of Northwestern University, became the first president general.[5] Dr. H. L. Rich of Tome School was elected its first secretary general.[5] The fraternity's board of regents set goals of expansion, countering the influence of athletics, and encouraging support for academics.[5]
To avoid confusion with the social college fraternity, Alpha Delta Tau changed its name to the Cum Laude Society in 1916.[4][2] At the same time, its constitution was changed to admit girls; the society was originally male-only because of Maryland's laws.[2][6] It also limited its chapters to public schools or non-profit private schools.[2]
By 1927, Cum Laude Society had 51 chapters and more than 4,000 total initiates.[2] As of 2025, it initiates 4,000 members a year and has 382 chapters.[7][8] Its national headquarters is in Louisville, Kentucky.[8]
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Symbols
The society's logo is based on the original logo of Alpha Delta Tau and features a stylized Greek letter Tau.[8] Its motto is Areté, Diké, Timé, which translates as "Excellence, Justice, Honor".[9] Originally, initiates were recognized with a badge and a golden yellow ribbon.[2]
Membership
Participating secondary institutions may nominate up to twenty percent of their graduating class for induction into the society.
Chapters
The Cum Laude Society has 382 chapters; all but 24 are at private or independent schools in the United States.[7][8] Chapters are located in the United States, Canada, England, France, the Philippines, and Spain.[8]
Notable members
- Dana Delany, actress
- Reza Dana, ophthalmologist and immunologist
- Adelaide Gay, professional soccer player
- Roswell Gilpatric, United States Deputy Secretary of Defense and United States Under Secretary of the Air Force
- Michael Huffington, United States House of Representatives
- Knight Kiplinger, economic journalist and editor in chief of the Kiplinger financial media company
- Peter Moore, Sterling Professor emeritus of chemistry, molecular biophysics, and biochemistry at Yale University
- Ankur Rathee, actor
- Richard Stothers, astronomer and planetary scientist with the Goddard Institute for Space Studies
- Kyle Zimmer, professional baseball player
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See also
References
External links
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