Gamma Sigma Delta
| Honor Society of Agriculture, Gamma Sigma Delta | |
|---|---|
| ΓΣΔ | |
 |
|
| Founded | January 13, 1913 Ohio State University |
| Type | Honor Society |
| Emphasis | Agriculture |
| Scope | International |
| Colors |
Sand and Forest Green An honor cord is in the colors of the Society. |
| Chapters | 53 |
| Homepage | Gamma Sigma Delta national website |
Gamma Sigma Delta, or more fully, the Honor Society of Agriculture, Gamma Sigma Delta, is an honor society for Agriculture students and those in related fields. Founded in 1913, it is the oldest and largest such society for its academic discipline, which also includes Delta Tau Alpha, founded in 1960.
The Honor Society of Agriculture, Gamma Sigma Delta, aims...:
To advance agriculture in all its phases, to maintain and improve relations of agriculture to other industries, and to recognize the responsibility of its members to their fellow men. It seeks to encourage high standards of scholarship, worthy attainment, and a high degree of excellence in the practice of agricultural pursuits.
While founded for the field of agriculture, in 1976 its constitution was expanded to include ". . . agriculture in its broadest interpretation, including forestry, wildlife conservation, veterinary medicine, and home economics."
Students of Agriculture and related programs who rank in the upper two-fifths of the junior and senior class. The Society also welcomes graduate school members. A provision was adopted at the founding of the society to allow honorary membership for faculty and experimental station staff who exhibit the characteristic of "an active spirit of investigation in agriculture."
Gamma Sigma Delta was born out of two predecessor organizations.
Delta Theta Sigma formed in 1905, at Ohio State University. After development of several chapters, dissension arose over the nature of that Fraternity, whether it would remain as an honorary society or become a residential, professional fraternity as it had become at the Alpha chapter at Ohio State. The resulting split was acrimonious at the time, where the Alpha chapter was severed from its five daughter chapters. These, in turn, re-organized as a purely honors society under the name Gamma Sigma Delta in 1913, quickly adding additional chapters in 1914 and 1916. Delta Theta Sigma went on to flourish as an agriculture professional fraternity, thus two surviving organizations came from the same Alpha. Gamma Sigma Delta later created its own chapter on the Ohio State campus. Now, where both exist, members occasionally belong to both groups.
Meanwhile, in 1915 at the University of Minnesota, agriculture students there had formed "The Agricultural Honor Society of America," "which could occupy in the College of Agriculture the position taken by Phi Beta Kappa in Colleges of Arts and Sciences," on that campus.
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