A university umbrella organization for academic honor societies has been put on hold, but coordinators say it’s recruitment as usual for Iowa State’s 44 societies.

The Council of Academic Honor Societies was founded as an approval mechanism for petitions from honor societies wanting to start a chapter on campus, said James Hill, former chairman of the council. The council, designed to support the campus honor societies and recognize ISU students’ academic achievements, was put on hold in Spring 1999 to be reorganized, he said.

“We proposed a new structure for the council to make it more effective, but it’s in limbo right now,” said Hill, university professor of chemical engineering. “We’ve been waiting since the spring of 1999 to hear from the university about what will be done, and we’re hoping something will be done soon.”

The council included representatives from the Dean of Students’ office, the provost’s office, all nine ISU colleges and various honor societies in its 15-year span, he said.

The networking opportunities, as well as access to nominee-list generators and ability to place membership in the honor society on students transcripts, were popular services the council offered, Hill said.

In the meantime, Iowa State’s 14 college or university-wide and 30 discipline-based honor societies are continuing to recruit members without the help of the council.

Scholarship, commitment to the profession and service to the community are important aspects of the Omega Chi Epsilon Chemical Engineering Honor Society, said Adviser Balaji Narasimhan. The society renews a piece of history each year with its initiation ceremony.

During initiation to Omega Chi Epsilon, a wooden plaque painted with the honor society’s emblem is hung from the pledge’s neck during pledge week. On the back of their plaques, pledges are required to obtain signatures from various present and past members of Omega Chi Epsilon. Membership dues must be paid and a pledge project must be completed.

In previous years the society has worked at soup kitchens, animal shelters, hospitals and schools throughout the area.

“It gives them a sense of working together as a group and helping the community, which are both very important in chemical engineering,” said Narasimhan, assistant professor of chemical engineering. “At first, many of the students don’t realize how they can apply what they have learned in the classroom to the activities they participate in throughout the community, but once they get involved, it becomes evident that the classroom and the community are closely linked.”

Jen Fritz, president of the Mortar Board honor society, said the organization is involved with a national service project called Reading is Leading. ISU Mortar Board members volunteer at libraries and elementary schools in the community. Mortar Board also volunteers through the Boys and Girls Club, Meals on Wheels and the Adopt-a-Highway program, she said.

Applicants to Mortar Board must be of junior or senior standing. Membership is based on grade point average, application, recommendations and involvement in the community, said Fritz, senior in genetics.

“We basically volunteer with any of the programs around here that need help,” she said. “Mortar Board is very typical of most honor societies, and I invite everyone who is eligible to be a member to apply.”

Once applicants gain entrance to the society, they get the royal treatment, Fritz said.

“Initiation night is a really nice night for the members to get together,” she said. “Distinguished people speak, pins are given out to initiates and a formal dinner is served.”

For Taylor Swanson, president of aerospace engineering honor society Sigma Gamma Tau, honor societies also offer leadership opportunities.

“The recognition of being a member, and especially on the cabinet of an honor society, helps you out in the eyes of an employer,” said Swanson, senior in aerospace engineering. “Employers know to be a member, you have to have not only good grades, but also be active in the community and an interest in society.”

Tera Lawson, facilities coordinator for Golden Key International Honour Society, said having the organization’s name on a r‚sum‚ is beneficial.

“At the national level, Golden Key is very widely recognized,” said Lawson, senior in journalism and mass communication. “A number of corporations are associated with Golden Key, and when they see on your application that you were a member, it says that you have something in common.”

In addition to coordinating several national and local volunteer programs, the ISU chapter of Golden Key is hosting chapters from 22 schools during the Northern Regional conference April 5 to 7.

“Hosting the conference will be a great opportunity for all members of Golden Key,” Lawson said. “It will be especially useful for journalism and hotel/restaurant management students to get involved in the planning because it uses what they have been studying the past few years and will look nice on a r‚sum‚.”

Honor societies also offer a chance to experience the working world, said Kelli Krogman, president of Alpha Pi Mu Industrial Engineering Honor Society.

“Last year we toured the Barilla plant and spoke to high schools in the area,” said Krogman, senior in industrial engineering. “We also . speak to future industrial engineering students and meet with professors and people in the field to help us gain important contacts.”

Part of being a member of Alpha Pi Mu also requires assisting fellow engineering students, she said.

“We are here to provide help and resources to the undergraduate students who are going through the same classes and experiences we did just a few years ago,” Krogman said.

A complete list of the honor societies at Iowa State can be found at www.stuorg.iastate.edu/list-honor.html.