Tau Beta Pi History
History of the national organization
Tau Beta Pi is the only engineering honor society representing the entire engineering profession. It is the nation's second-oldest honor society, founded at Lehigh University in 1885. The mission of Tau Beta Pi is to mark in a fitting manner those who have conferred honor upon their Alma Mater by distinguished scholarship and exemplary character as students in engineering, or by their attainments as alumni in the field of engineering, and to foster a spirit of liberal culture in engineering colleges.
When academic honor society Phi Beta Kappa sought to restrict its membership to liberal arts in the late 19th century, Dr. Edward H. Williams Jr., head of the mining department at Lehigh University, formulated the idea of an honor society for those studying technical subjects. Working alone, he conceived an organization, gave it a name, designed its governmental structure, drew up its constitution, prepared its badge and certificate, established its membership requirements, and planned all the necessary details for its operation including the granting of chapters and the holding of conventions. Irving Andrew Heikes, the valedictorian of his class at Lehigh, was initiated as the first student member of Tau Beta Pi on June 15, 1885.
Tau Beta Pi has grown steadily since its inception, averaging 1-2 new chapters per year. As of October 15, 2009, there are collegiate chapters at 234 U.S. colleges and universities, active alumnus chapters in all 16 districts throughout the country, and a total initiated membership of more than 500,000 people. The creed of Tau Beta Pi is "integrity and excellence in engineering."
History of our chapter
The Hawaii Alpha Chapter of Tau Beta Pi was founded on June 12, 1998 at the University of Hawaii. We have initiated over 1000 members. Our projects include working with local middle schools to run an after-school engineering club, running tutoring sessions for freshman and sophomore engineering students, and our annual "Pi Mile Run" which raises money for local charities.