Mortar Board

Mortar Board was founded in Syracuse, New York on February 15, 1918. It was the first national honor society for college senior women and continues to promote women's interests in higher education today. The organization coalesced by the agreement of four local women's honor societies. The founding local organizations were: • Der Hexenkreis, Cornell University • Mortar Board, Ohio State University • Mortarboard, University of Michigan • Pi Sigma Chi, Swarthmore College These and other chapters continue the tradition of adopting unique, historical, or symbolic local names as their chapter designations, and do not use traditional alphabetized Greek Letter names as are common among other honor societies. The society admitted men in 1975 as a ramification of Title IX, at which point a clause was added in its purpose to include "to promote and advance the status of women." This was further revised the following year to read, "...to emphasize the advancement of the status of women" and "to promote equal opportunities among all people." By 2012, the society had 229 active chapters, 16 alumni clubs, 5,700 active members, and 431,400 total initiates. Its national headquarters is in Columbus, Ohio. ==Symbols==

Mortar Board's motto is the Greek letters "Pi Sigma Alpha", representing the ideals of "Scholarship, Service, and Leadership". Gold symbolizes achievement, and silver symbolizes opportunity. ==Membership==

Membership in Mortar Board is open to college juniors and seniors for outstanding academics, leadership, and service. Tapping ceremonies vary between chapters, with some using the "Tapping Song". ==Organization==

Mortar Board, Inc. is governed by collegiate chapters. National officers come from the ranks of alumni and collegiate members. National office Mortar Board's national office is located at 1200 Chambers Road, Suite 201, in Columbus, Ohio. It is the source of records and information related to chapter operations, national conferences, alumni, the Mortar Board National Foundation and the historical archives of Mortar Board. The staff enacts policies and procedures established by the National Council and the Mortar Board National Foundation. National Foundation The National Foundation was established in 1955 as the fundraising arm of Mortar Board, as well as to serve the educational aims of Mortar Board, Inc. The mission of the National Foundation is to support Mortar Board, Inc. in furthering its ideals of scholarship, leadership, and service. Region Coordinators Region Coordinators work directly with chapters, serving as close primary contacts for chapters within a specified geographic region. The region coordinator is available to assist the chapters with a variety of tasks, including planning and execution of events. ==Chapters==

As of 2024, the Mortar Board has chartered 235 chapters in 45 states and has 104 active chapters. ==Notable members==

More than a quarter of a million members have been initiated nationwide. Some notable alumni include: ==See also==