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Kappa Delta Pi

Kappa Delta Pi Honor Society in Education is an American honor society for education. It was formed in 1911 at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as one of the first discipline-specific honor societies.

History
Kappa Delta Pi grew out of the Illinois Education Club, founded by Dr. William Bagley at the University of Illinois in 1909. In May 1909, the club affiliated with Pi Kappa Mu, with plans on becoming a chapter. However, when Pi Kappa Mu began plans to merge with Phi Delta Kappa (PDK International), the Illinois Education Club withdrew its merger application as this meant that it would have to give up its coeducational status. Instead, Bagley and the club's members formed the first chapter of Kappa Delta Pi, a coeducational national honorary educational fraternity. By 1963, the society had initiated 177,782 members and had 294 active chapters, 12 inactive chapters, and 16 alumni chapters. == Symbols ==
Symbols
The name Kappa Delta Pi was selected from its motto "Knowledge, Duty, Power". The society's core values or pillars are Community, Belonging, Leadership, and Celebration. Its flower is the violet. The scroll represents ancient scrolls of papyrus, the earliest documents of learning. The stylus symbolizes the first tool used to make letters and symbols, and the beehive represents toil. The insignia was produced as a key for men and a pin for women. == Membership ==
Membership
Membership is open only to the top twenty percent of those entering the education field. In addition, undergraduates must have a 3.0 GPA and graduate students a 3.50 GPA. Membership for active professionals varies. The society's Laureate Chapter is limited to sixty living members at any time. == Activities ==
Activities
Kappa Delta Pi holds annual regional meetings and a biennial convocation where it conducts organizational business. The society also sponsors an awards program and national service projects.The society holds annual regional meetings and a biennial convocation where it conducts organizational business and provides professional development opportunities. It also published the peer-reviewed The Kappa Delta Pi Record from 1964 to 2023. It also produces The Rooted Teacher Podcast. The society's educational foundation and local chapters distribute multiple scholarships to members. Local chapters provide opportunities for networking, leadership training, community service, and professional development. Members can also participate in professional development through the Kappa Delta Pi website. == Governance ==
Governance
Kappa Delta Pi is led by a national board of directors, drawn from the society's three standing committees. The society's national office in Indianapolis, Indiana. ==Chapters==
Chapters
As of 2025, Kappa Delta Pi has chartered more than 860 chapters, with 543 active collegiate chapters and four active professional or alumni chapters. ==Notable people==
Notable people
Notable members Merry Ann Thompson Wright, president general of the Daughters of the American RevolutionRuth Westheimer, professor, sex therapist and talk show host. Laureates Since 1924, 293 eminent educators have been named to Kappa Delta Pi's Laureate chapter. • Grace Abbott (1936), social worker and director of the United States Children's BureauFrank Aydelotte (1953), president of Swarthmore CollegeBill Ayers (2000), co-founded the militant organization the Weather Underground; professor in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at ChicagoWilliam Bagley (1928) director of the School of Education at the University of Illinois and professor of education at Teachers College, Columbia UniversityLiberty Hyde Bailey (1945), horticulturist, reformer of rural life, and cofounder of the American Society for Horticultural ScienceStephen Ball (2015), sociologist and former Karl Mannheim Professor of Sociology of Education at the Institute of Education of University College LondonHarold R. W. Benjamin (1949), educator and writer • David Berliner (1997), professor and dean of the Mary Lou Fulton Institute and Graduate School of EducationMartha Berry (1941), founder of Berry CollegeBenjamin Bloom (1984), educational psychologistBoyd Henry Bode (1936), professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Ohio State University known for his work on philosophy of educationDerek Bok (1997), president of Harvard University and Dean of Harvard Law SchoolErnest L. Boyer (1982), United States Commissioner of Education, chancellor of the State University of New York, and president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of TeachingJohn Brademas (1990), Majority Whip of the United States House of Representative and chairman of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New YorkTheodore Brameld (1972), philosopher and educator who supported the educational philosophy of social reconstructionismHarry Broudy (1968), professor of the philosophy of education University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignGeorge Washington Carver (1942), botanist and professor at the Tuskegee Institute who promoted alternative crops to cotton and methods to prevent soil depletionJames B. Conant (1942) chemist • John Dewey (1925) philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer • Albert Einstein (1950), theoretical physicist known for developing the theory of relativityJ. William Fulbright (1956) United States Senator and U.S. House of RepresentativesHoward Gardner (1961) developmental psychologist • Henry A. Giroux (1997) scholar and cultural critic • Maxine Greene (1988), philosopher • Robert Maynard Hutchins (1946), philosopher • William Heard Kilpatrick (1926), pedagogue • Alfie Kohn (2003), author and lecturer • Jonathan Kozol (1997), activist and educator • Margaret Mead (1962), cultural anthropologist, author, and speaker • Nel Noddings (1994), feminist, philosopher, and educator • Jean Piaget (1974), psychologist known for his work on child developmentEleanor Roosevelt (1949), diplomat, activist, and First Lady of the United States ==Further reading==
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