Tara Singer, Ed.D.
Executive Director, Omicron Delta Kappa
Not long ago, one of our members said to
me that he thought O∆K was “just an honor so-
ciety.” He was surprised that our organization
provided scholar-
ships, partnered
with other groups
to offer leadership
experiences, and
had research and
curriculum inter-
ests. He was focused on the recognition compo-
nent of celebrating individual achievement, and
yet, I think it is more important to concentrate
on the educational potential of an honorable life.
When our society focuses on what it means to
be honorable, we teach by example. Honoring
individuals is a way that we express our values
— whether they be excellence in scholarship or
professional accomplishment. Beyond celebrating past performance, we also expect that these
individuals will do the right and responsible
thing when faced with a challenge. In many
ways, all of us hope to learn from the examples
they provide and to model our own behaviors on
how they discharge their responsibilities with
honor, loyalty and respect.
Focusing on leadership, honor, and education
guides our daily decisions as we think about
how we not only develop and educate our members but also how we contribute to the advancement and improvement of our society. Living
an honorable life is education by example, and
it is certainly worth celebrating.
Diane G. Smathers, Ed.D.
President, The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi
Honor is responsibility; it is also rare. Honor
is an obligation to think and act in ways that
benefit the common good. Honor can be found
in all sectors of society and at all socioeconomic
levels. Whether CEO of a Fortune 500 company
or president of the local PTA, whether an Olym-
pic gold medalist or a spectator at a Little League
baseball team, whether an elected official or a
recipient of food stamps — the way in which
one fulfills responsibility determines if one
is honorable.
The role of honor is to validate, to motivate,
and to reward. If one fulfills his/her respon-
sibility, the result is enhanced self-esteem,
respect, pride and a sense
of accomplishment. It is
knowing that one has con-
tributed positively to society.
Research has shown that a
sense of belongingness and
wanting to be part of a
greater whole are inherent
in human beings. Thus, these outcomes of
honor serve to motivate and guide one’s behav-
ior. Similarly, when one engages in honorable
behavior, there is often reward. Reward validates
and motivates, so the cycle becomes complete.
The value of honor is determined by its rarity.
Within a free market, the cost of an object is
what the consumer is willing to pay. Although
intangible, honor is a benefit to society. Unfortu-
nately, it is also a rare commodity. If honor were
easy to achieve, everyone would uphold it;
honor would be commonplace. Since that’s not
the case, the value of honor increases and be-
comes almost revered.
Katherine R. Soule, MBA
President, The Phi Beta Kappa Society
Phi Beta Kappa’s well-known emblem dates
from our founding in 1776. In addition to the
Greek letters themselves, our original key fea-
tures a pointing hand gesturing toward a group-
ing of three stars. The stars, we learn, were stip-
ulated to represent Literature, Friendship, and
Morality. Since this gesture frames the letters
Phi Beta Kappa, with their
meaning “Love of learning is
the guide of life,” we can deci-
pher the whole ensemble as
saying this: “These are the
stars to steer by.”
That assertion poses the
question what these terms
would have meant to our
founders. “Literature,” in
their time, may have meant
something like learning in
general. “Friendship,” we
may suppose, they would have
conceived — in addition to its convivial conno-
tations — as a sort of league of mutual help in
self-improvement. And “Morality,” likely a
broad and empowering notion, would have
supplied a framework of earnest commitment.
So we can see that in their adoption of these
terms, the founders of Phi Beta Kappa were not
merely stringing together a series of high-sound-
ing words. They were actually embracing a com-
mon purpose. It is as if they were saying, “We
commit to helping each other strive, through
learning, to live better lives.”
The word “honor” does not actually occur in
this analysis. But arguably, honor is what it amounts
to. Honor is directed toward learning, toward one’s
fellows, and toward the as-yet-unrealized selves our
mutual efforts can aid us to become. In this rich
sense, Phi Beta Kappa has, from its very begin-
ning, conceived honor as arising from the
shared pursuit of merited distinction, not the
mere accumulation of personal accolades.
Mary Todd, Ph.D.
Executive Director,
The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi
As an undergraduate at Valparaiso University,
I quickly learned what it meant to abide by an
honor code — on every paper, quiz, and exam
we were required to write this pledge in full: I have
neither given or received, nor have I tolerated others’ use
of unauthorized aid. Students at Valpo still do.
As a teacher I wanted nothing more than to
hold my students to the same expectation that
my Valpo faculty held be-
fore me, but an honor code
has to be embedded in the
culture of an institution for
it to be lived. When it is,
academic integrity becomes
the mentalité of a campus
community. But when it’s
not, it remains an elusive
expectation at best. Perhaps that’s why honor
codes are found on so few American colleges.
These many years later, I see more clearly
than I did then how deeply living by an honor
code permeated my being. Honor and honesty
share a root word. But our culture sends
mixed messages about those notions. Honors
educators are used to hearing the critique of
elitism when creating opportunities for the
best students. Cheating scandals are height-
ened when discovered in military units or
academies. Honorable people are frequently
considered naïve.
Honor can be a deeply conflicting term. Or it
can be an ethic. I like to think the invitation to
an honor society implies not only recognition
and esteem but also an expectation of excellence
going forward.
