Use Restrictions

Copyright for materials authored or otherwise produced as official business of James Madison University is retained by James Madison University. Copyright status for other collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information, contact the Special Collections Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Kappa Delta Pi. Alpha Chi Chapter Records, UA 0030, 1923-1986, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Acquisition Information

The charter and account book were transferred to Special Collections on September 22, 2004 by Dr. Ian MacGillivray of the Department of Education. Remaining items were in the cage in 1982, at the time of Special Collections' founding. Three scrapbooks and three minute/record books were transferred to Special Collections in February 2020.

Processing Information

The records are a merger of the documents from the collection KDP 2004-0922, Kappa Delta Pi, and select papers located in SU 93-0031, Students: Memorabilia and General. Loose papers were removed from the Pi Kappa Omega. Beta Chapter minute book and placed in a sub-folder with the minute book.

Administrative History

Kappa Delta Pi, the International Honor Society in education, was founded in 1911 at the University of Illinois, and was one of the first discipline-specific honor societies. On January 30, 1928 members of the Pi Kappa Omega Society at the State Teachers College at Harrisonburg, also an honors society, dissolved their chapter and reformed as the Alpha Chi Chapter of the Kappa Delta Pi. According to Katherine Pace, the first Alpha Chi chapter historian, the decision to join Kappa Delta Pi was an effort to grow the society's membership in order to "enlarge its service and become a more active and progressive organization." Members are known as "Kadelphians."

Scope and Content

The Kappa Delta Pi. Alpha Chi Chapter Records comprise a record book, an account book, original charter, scrapbooks, minute books, and collected papers that document the history of the Alpha Chi Chapter of the Kappa Delta Pi, at the State Teachers College at Harrisonburg. The records largely comprise essays, written each year by the organization's historian, that summarize the activities and accomplishments of the organization. Scrapbooks contain ephemera and photographs documenting the organizations activities. An account book contains a record of expenses and membership dues. Minute books, including one from the Beta chapter of Pi Kappa Omega, the precursor to the Alpha Chi chapter of Kappa Delta Pi, document the organization's regular meetings, business, and activities. Loose papers, comprising a member list, national constitution, and eligibility rubrics for students, were removed from the Pi Kappa Omega. Beta Chapter minute book and placed in a sub-folder with the minute book.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged chronologically.

Separated Material

Published books were removed from the collection and cataloged individually as part of Special Collections rare book holdings.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Account books
• Charters
• Greek letter societies -- Virginia -- Harrisonburg
• Harrisonburg (Va.) -- History
• James Madison University -- History
• Kappa Delta Pi (Honor society)
• Madison College -- History
• Membership lists
• Minute books
• Photographs
• Printed Ephemera
• Scrapbooks
• State Teachers College at Harrisonburg (Harrisonburg, Va.) -- History