THE CUM LAUDE SOCIETY

Areté

Diké

Timé

Excellence

Justice

Honor

 

Constitution and Brief History
ARTICLE I
The name of this association shall be "The Cum Laude Society Incorporated." Its object shall be to promote learning and sound scholarship in secondary schools.
 
ARTICLE II
SECTION 1. The Society shall consist of Chapters established in public high schools and incorporated secondary schools which are not conducted for financial gain and which do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national and ethnic origin in the administration of their educational or admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs and athletic and other school-administered programs. New Chapters shall be constituted by the Board of Regents, in schools designated by the General Convention or by a majority of the Regents. Each charter shall be signed by the President General and the Secretary General of the Society, and attested by the seal of the Society.
 
SECTION 2. The General Convention shall have authority to revoke the charter of any Chapter by a two-thirds vote, provided that notice of the proposal of such action shall have been sent to the Chapter not less than thirty days before the date appointed for the meeting of the General Convention at which the proposal is to be presented. The Board of Regents shall have authority to suspend the activity of any Chapter at any time, but this suspension shall be valid only until the next meeting of the General Convention.
 
SECTION 3. Members of the Chapters shall be elected by ballot, and a three-fourths vote shall be necessary for election. The members shall be of four classes, as follows:
 
CHARTER MEMBERS shall be elected under authority given by the Board of Regents in granting charters, but the right to elect charter members shall not be extended beyond two years from the establishment of the Chapter.
 
HONORARY MEMBERS: Each Chapter may elect two honorary members each year.
 
FACULTY MEMBERS: Each Chapter may elect to membership teachers or administrative officers of the school who are members of Phi Beta Kappa, and other members of the faculty who in the judgment of the voting members of the Chapter have suitable qualifications. At no time should the number of active faculty members fall below three.
 
STUDENT MEMBERS: Each Chapter may elect as members those students of the senior class in the college preparatory curriculum who have had an honor record up to the time of election and stand in the first fifth of their class, choosing the whole number at the end of the senior year, or not more than the first tenth of the class at the end of the junior year or at any time during the senior year and the remainder at the end of the senior year. Each Chapter shall determine the method in which an honor record and class standing shall be ascertained. Any exception to the foregoing provisions as to the election of student members may be made by a Chapter only with the prior written consent of the District Regent. Each member shall have one vote at the meeting of a Chapter, except student members, who may, however, by action of the Chapter be given the right to vote.
 
SECTION 4. The officers of the Chapter shall be regularly a president and a secretary. The president may be either a student member or a faculty member of the Chapter. The secretary shall be drawn from the active faculty members of the Chapter, with the responsibility for all records and communications with the Regents and the central office.

 

ARTICLE III
SECTION 1. The supreme legislative authority of the Society shall be vested in a General Convention, to consist of the general officers of the Society, the Board of Regents, and delegates elected by the Chapters. Each Chapter shall be entitled to three delegates.

 

SECTION 2. Each Chapter shall have one vote in the General Convention. The general officers of the Society and the members of the Board of Regents shall have no vote, unless as delegates from their Chapters. Each Chapter may cast its vote in person (through a representative) or by proxy in writing filed with the Secretary General before being voted. Such proxy shall entitle the proxy named therein to vote at the meeting of the Convention designated in such proxy and at any adjournment thereof.

 

SECTION 3. The General Convention shall enact laws for the government of the Society; shall elect by majority vote the general officers of the Society and such District Regents and additional members of the Board of Regents as the General Convention shall deem appropriate; shall determine the insignia and the form of admission; and shall have jurisdiction over all matters not provided for in this Constitution.

 

SECTION 4. The General Convention shall meet at such times and places as may be fixed by the previous General Convention or the Board of Regents.

 

SECTION 5. At any General Convention, a majority of all the Chapters of the Society represented in person or by proxy shall constitute a quorum.

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ARTICLE IV
SECTION 1. The general officers of the Society shall be a President General, a Deputy President General, a Secretary General, a Registrar General, and such other officers as the General Convention may determine. They shall hold office for three years, or until their successors shall be chosen.

 

SECTION 2. The Secretary General, under the direction of the Board of Regents, shall have supervision of the Chapters, and shall have charge of the correspondence, records, reports, and publications of the Society, except as otherwise provided.

 

SECTION 3. The Registrar General shall have charge of the membership roll of the Society, and shall be custodian of the seal. He shall issue to each member an official certificate, signed by the President General of the Society, the Registrar General, and the President of the Chapter, and attested by the seal of the Society, and this certificate shall be authority for initiation. The Registrar General shall be the Treasurer of the Society. He shall collect and hold the funds of the Society, and pay them out under the direction of the General Convention or the Board of Regents.

 

SECTION 4. The Secretary General and the Registrar General shall make a full and detailed report of their official acts to the General Convention.

 

SECTION 5. Any other officer shall have such duties and powers as may be designated by the General Convention or by the Board of Regents.

 

ARTICLE V
In the interval between meetings of the General Convention all the powers of the Society, except as otherwise provided, shall be lodged in the Board of Regents, which shall consist of the general officers of the Society, Regents-at-Large and such District Regents and additional members as the General Convention may determine. Each District Regent shall be in charge of the Chapters in a District. All Past Presidents General shall be Regents-at-Large with all privileges pertaining to the office of Regent. Each member of the Board of Regents shall be elected for three years, except that Regents-at-Large shall serve at their pleasure.

 

ARTICLE Vl
SECTION 1. The General Convention shall have the authority to raise money by assessments upon the Chapters.

 

SECTION 2. No certificate of membership shall be issued nor shall a member-elect be initiated into the Society until there shall have been paid to the Registrar General a membership fee, the amount of which shall be fixed by the General Convention. Honorary members shall be exempt from this requirement.

 

SECTION 3. Each Chapter shall be responsible for the dues of its members to the general treasury, and shall determine its own dues.

 

ARTICLE VII
Amendments to this Constitution may be adopted by the affirmative vote of not less than three-fourths of the Chapters represented in person or by proxy at any General Convention at which a quorum is present, provided that a copy of the proposed amendment shall have been submitted in writing to the Chapters at least thirty days before the Convention and that no amendment shall authorize or permit the Society to be operated or its assets to be expended otherwise than exclusively for and in furtherance of the purposes specified in ARTICLE VIII hereof.

 

ARTICLE VIII
SECTION 1. The Society shall be organized and operated exclusively for charitable and educational purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and shall not engage in activities not permitted to be carried on by an organization described in said Section.

 

SECTION 2. All of the assets of the Society shall be held and applied exclusively for charitable and educational purposes described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, and, upon dissolution, shall be disposed of only in furtherance of such purposes.

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A BRIEF HISTORY
 
 
In 1906, Dr. Abram W. Harris, Director of the Tome School, 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.
 
Since Dr. Harris and his associates believed that chapters 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.
 
During the Society's existence there has been no deviation 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 the early 1920's the Officers and Regents made two changes 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.
 
In May 1931, delegates from twenty-nine chapters helped 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.
 
In the years since the 1956 Triennial Convention the Officers 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.
 
A look at the themes of conventions makes one aware of their changed nature from brief business meetings to longer sessions discussing societal issues and including short meetings to elect officers and to conduct general business.
 
 
TRIENNIAL THEMES 1963 to 1996
 
1963 -- The Conquest of Inner Space 
 
1966 -- Government - Challenge and Opportunity
 
1969 -- Urban Life: The Challenge of Change 
 
1972 -- The Role of Honor Societies in Educational Institutions 
 
1975 -- Changing Attitudes and Values of Young People in their Educational, Personal, and
Interpersonal Lives in the Mid-1970's
 
1978 -- The Place and Purpose of the Cum Laude Society Today: Is the Motto still relevant?
 
1981 -- At Seventy-five, Cum Laude Society Looks Forward:
The Legal and Judicial Scene;
The Social Scene; The Educational Scene 
 
1984 -- Issues of Our Future: Living in a Nuclear Era;
Meeting Changing Moral and Ethical Concerns;
The Computer and Its Uses
 
1987 -- Excellence in Education
 
1990 -- 21st Century Needs
 
1993 -- Issues and Ethics in the 21st Century
 
1996 -- Education and Technology (with live uplink and downlink)
 
Triennial and General Convention

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:

Dr. King Odell, Moses Brown School, Providence, RI
Laura Hansen, Kingswood-Oxford School, West Hartford, CT
Bernice Hauser, Horace Mann School, New York, NY
Dr. Ann D. Beal, Chatham Hall, Chatham, VA
Jean Webb, Charlotte Latin School, Charlotte, NC
Dr. Marilyn V. Douglass, Western Hills HS, Cincinnati, OH
Ross Thomas, Saint George's School, Spokane, WA
Mary G. Basson, University School of Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI
 
 
 SUMMARY
 
The Society, a non-profit, 501(c)(3) educational organization, 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.
 
As one studies the new chapter applications and the Annual 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.

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Cecil A. Ewing Award 
 
In 1963 the members of the Society were 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.
 
Recipients of this award have 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.

     

 

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For more information about Cum Laude, contact:
 THE CUM LAUDE SOCIETY, INC.
23490 Caraway Lakes Drive
Bonita Springs, FL 34135-8441
239/390-3257 FAX: 239/390-3245
E-mail: cumlaudesosciety@mac.com
 

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