Kappa Delta Pi Archives

Organizational History

 

Kappa Delta Pi was founded by Dr. William Bagley in 1911 at the University of Illinois as an honor society for educators. The second chapter was founded at the University of Colorado in 1912 and in 1915 the first biennial convocation was held in Boulder. The 1920s saw the creation of both the Laureate Chapter and the Lecture Series and the group settled on Tiffin, OH as the location for their national headquarters. Thomas McCracken was appointed President in 1924, a position he would hold for more than two decades, but the rest of the Executive Council, including two Vice Presidents, an Advisory Counselor, and a Laureate Counselor, wasn't established until the 1940s. The 1980s led to the inclusion of international chapters, beginning with the University of Calgary in 1981 and in 1984 the first convocation to be held outside the USA was hosted in Montreal.

 

 

Publications

 

Through the years, Kappa Delta Pi has had a number of periodical publications. They include:

 

 

 

Finding Aids

 

The Kappa Delta Pi Archives at the University of Illinois include both materials related to the local Alpha Chapter as well as national records.

 

Alpha Chapter

 

41/63/35 Kappa Delta Pi Records, 1920-1980

 

National Archives

 

41/63/535 Kappa Delta Pi Minutes, 1968-1986

41/63/536 Kappa Delta Pi Subject File, 1924-1986

41/63/537 Kappa Delta Pi Chapter Files, 1929-1967

41/63/538 Kappa Delta Pi Convocation File, 1926-1990

41/63/835 Kappa Delta Pi Publications, 1942-1986