{"id":13677,"date":"2026-06-17T13:40:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T17:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/news\/?p=13677"},"modified":"2026-06-17T13:40:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T17:40:12","slug":"100-years-of-mortar-board-1926-2026-on-display-now-at-purdue-university-archives-and-special-collections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/news\/2026\/06\/17\/100-years-of-mortar-board-1926-2026-on-display-now-at-purdue-university-archives-and-special-collections\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201c100 Years of Mortar Board, 1926\u20132026\u201d on display now at Purdue University Archives and Special Collections"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Purdue University Archives and Special Collections is pleased to present \u201c100 Years of Mortar Board,\u201d an exhibition highlighting key moments in the history of Mortar Board at Purdue University through letters, photographs, speeches, drawings, and ephemera from the Mortar Board records and from individuals closely associated with the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"1949<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The Mortar Board chapter at Purdue<\/a> began with the founding of the SLS (Service, Leadership, and Scholarship) honor society in fall 1924. In spring 1926, SLS members submitted a proposal for admission to the National Mortar Board society. After their petition was approved in fall 1926, the organization adopted the name Mortar Board honor society. The passage of Title IX legislation in 1975 later marked a shift to a coeducational membership, opening the organization to male students as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mortar Board\u2019s mission is to promote equal opportunities in education, scholarship, and leadership, and to serve both the Purdue campus and the local community. In 2026, Mortar Board members continue to support scholarship funds and sponsor a variety of initiatives at Purdue University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exhibition was developed by Sara Pettinger, processing archivist for distinctive collections, with research support from Katey Watson, clinical assistant professor and France A. C\u00f3rdova archivist, and Vineeta Chen, student assistant. The exhibition is currently on view and will remain open throughout the fall 2026 semester at Purdue University Archives and Special Collections, located on the fourth floor of the HSSE Library in Stewart Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Curator\u2019s statement: <\/strong>\u201c100 Years of Mortar Board\u201d aims to showcase key elements of the history of Mortar Board at Purdue University using letters, photographs, speeches, and ephemera from the Mortar Board papers and individuals associated with Mortar Board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the Barbara Cook Chapter of Mortar Board at Purdue University<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Barbara Cook Chapter of Mortar Board at Purdue University<\/a> is part of the nation\u2019s premier senior honor society, recognizing students who demonstrate exceptional scholarship, leadership, and service. Chartered at Purdue in 1926, the chapter has become one of the most distinguished among Mortar Board\u2019s nationwide network. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through leadership initiatives, campus service, and philanthropic efforts, members work to strengthen the Purdue community while supporting students, staff, and organizations through fellowships and awards. Funded largely by the annual sale of the iconic Mortar Board calendar, the chapter has contributed more than $1 million to the Purdue community over its history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Purdue University Archives and Special Collections is pleased to present \u201c100 Years of Mortar Board,\u201d an exhibition highlighting key moments in the history of Mortar Board at Purdue University through letters, photographs, speeches, drawings, and ephemera from the Mortar Board records and from individuals closely associated with the organization. The Mortar Board chapter at Purdue […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":13680,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[13,13101],"tags":[13102,3],"class_list":["post-13677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","category-news-and-announcements","tag-general","tag-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/06\/May-12-1949-pledges_MSP25_F11_F184.jpg?fit=1905%2C1353&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pT6ms-3yB","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13677"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13677\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13682,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13677\/revisions\/13682"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}