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National Mortar Board fees Mortar Board requires members to pay nominal national membership fees in exchange for valuable support, services and the honor of lifetime membership in one of the most prestigious national senior honor societies. Fees are a requirement of membership and all chapters are required to monitor payment of individual members and submit their chapter conference fee to the Mortar Board National Office:
*Based on financial need, each chapter is permitted to waive one new member fee annually. The Coral V. Stevens Gift Membership is selected confidentially, and may be awarded to one new member or a few, up to a maximum of $60. What do fees cover? The $60 individual membership fee includes:
The chapter $200 conference fee:
How does my chapter pay fees? Each individual member will pay their $60 membership fee directly to the National Office. However, it is the responsibility of the chapter treasurer and membership chair to work with the National Office to ensure that all candidates have paid their fees prior to initiation. The national conference fee of $200 may be paid by one check or one credit card and submitted to the National Office, following the collection of required membership fees - normally collected between orientation and initiation. Apply for a Mortar Board Week Visibility Grant
The deadline is quickly approaching - December 15 - so be sure to complete the grant application online now! Recipients will be notified by January 12. Furthering your education? Apply for a fellowship. Recipients are chosen for academic excellence, recommendation, promise, financial need and Mortar Board involvement. Since the establishment of the Mortar Board fellowship program in 1941, more than $500,000 has been awarded to members pursuing further study in graduate or professional school. Invest your funds with the Chapter Endowment Program Is your chapter or interested in establishing a permanent scholarship in the name of the chapter? Does it seem you endlessly fundraise just to keep the chapter going? The Mortar Board National Foundation Fund has developed the Chapter Endowment Program which may specifically help to bridge that widening funding gap. The Chapter Endowment Program encourages members, chapters, award recipients, friends and even chapters to easily make tax-deductible, substantial contributions to a permanently endowed fund in the name of your chapter. The Fund will be professionally managed and maintained, at no charge, within the larger Mortar Board National Foundation fund. A few provisions of the Chapter Endowment Program:
All chapters will be receiving a packet in the mail very shortly, including some additional fliers on this new opportunity. Please share that information with your alumni, faculty or friends of the chapter. For additional details, please contact National Foundation Chair Bob Sorensen at foundationchair@mortarboard.org or Executive Director Jon Cook at mortarboard@mortarboard.org. Your chapter could be missing out on some extra cash before the end of the year! The Mortar Board YouTube Recruitment Video Contest deadline is December 15. Submit an original recruitment video, highlighting Mortar Board’s activities, ideals and/or members. A committee will review the videos and select one grand prize winner to receive a $200 check and insignia for the winning chapter’s website. Honorable mention chapters will also receive recognition. Learn more here. Mortar Board and Blossom Express are making it easy and profitable for your chapter to hold a graduation flower sale. For those who are already doing a flower sale, you know how successful they can be. For those that are not doing a sale, Blossom Express is sweetening the pot! The first five (5) new chapters who sign up for the Blossom Express program will receive a special, one-time $250 chapter project grant funded by Blossom Express to do anything with you please! No reports, no application fees! Blossom Express will be following up with you shortly to see if you are interested in selling flowers, or give Lori Taylor a call at 800-332-7421 to jump on this chance! Chapter Spotlight: The Ohio State University The Mabel G. Freeman chapter, selected as a Ruth Weimer Mount Chapter Excellence Award finalist in 2008, continues to diligently work to exemplify the ideals of scholarship, leadership and service. Chapter members mentor and tutor students at a local elementary school on a weekly basis, combining scholarship, service and the “Reading is Leading” national project. The group also devotes themselves to service with numerous other projects, including helping the homeless by volunteering at the Good Neighbors Homelessness Picnic; adopting a family at the holiday season; and raising money for pancreatic cancer research with their attempt to break the record for the World’s Largest Pillow Fight. Chapter President Laura Bockbrader is looking forward to the chapter’s annual Faculty Reception. Late each winter, Mortar Board pairs with senior honorary Sphinx to honor distinguished faculty. Each member of the societies invites a faculty member who has had a significant impact on his or her college career to be recognized at this notable ceremony. Learn more about the chapter at The Ohio State University here. |
Deadlines & Reminders December 15
**Please exhibit timeliness when submitting your MRSP, as each chapter must receive approval on their MRSP before proceeding with selection. January 31
March 15
Icebreaker of the month Guess who? Materials: Index cards, writing utensils Procedure: 1. Provide each member with an index card. Instruct each member to write five significant things about themselves on a card but without their name. 2. Collect all of the index cards and mix them up. 3. Distribute the cards to the members, advising them that they cannot have their own card. 4. Each person attempts to search for their card's author. However, members cannot ask an incredibly specific question. So, for example, if someone wrote “I love Madonna,” a member cannot ask “Do you love Madonna?” They can ask a question that may lead to that answer, such as “What type of music do you like?” or “Who is your favorite musician?” 5. After finding the card’s author, introduce yourself. The game ends when everyone has found their card’s owner. About INK The Mortar Board INK e-newsletter is distributed monthly throughout the academic year (September - May). All chapter officers and advisors reported on the Officer Address Information Form receive the newsletter. If you think an officer or advisor in your chapter is not receiving the newsletter, encourage them to sign up here. To ensure that you promptly receive the newsletter each month, Mortar Board recommends adding enews@mortarboard.org to your address book or safe-senders list. Archived editions of Mortar Board INK are available online.
From your National Council student representative Hello Mortar Board members! Every time I turn on the news, I am confronted with commentary on our world’s economic crisis. In the wake of this, I am certain of each of your uncertainty as you prepare to enter this “real world”. Let me take this opportunity to assure you that you are already one step ahead. Mortar Board offers you the unique opportunity to hone skills in scholarship, leadership and service, highly marketable in today’s environment. Although the world seems to have turned upside-down in the past year, our generation has also been given the unique opportunity to make a huge impact. As you consider chapter projects for the next few months, consider how you can make a difference in the world around you - doors are open everywhere! Each project can provide not only a service to your community, but to your resume as you garner those experiences that make you a prime candidate for whatever track your pursue. Being in Mortar Board is a fabulous resume builder, but only with the experiences to back it. Utilize this time to find your strengths and capitalize on them; for you, your chapter, your community and, ultimately, our world. My best, Katie Schirmer, a recent graduate of Drury University, serves as one of two National Council student representatives. Her two-year term will end in July 2009. The other seat is held by University of Arizona senior and chapter president Joseph Rodriguez, whose term will expire in July 2010. |
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Mortar Board is offering a special grant to chapters who hope to enhance their group’s visibility during 