Tau Alpha Pi Honor Society--A brief history

Journal of Engineering Technology, Spring 2000 by Cheshier, Stephen R, Troxler, G William, Moore, Michael

Under Berger's dynamic leadership, Tau Alpha Pi grew each year from several chapters in the early 1960s, to 130 chapters by the mid-1990s. Today, there are around 100 active chapters. Over the years Tau Alpha Pi instituted a national "Meritorious Award." At least 23 of these awards were given to either individuals or chapters between 1981 and 1995, as listed in table 1. In recognition of his work for Tau Alpha Pi and his national call for educational excellence in engineering technology, Capitol College conferred upon Professor Frederick J. Berger the honorary degree of Doctor of Science in 1986. Similarly, the Frederick J. Berger Award, one of ASEE's few general excellence awards, was so named to honor those programs and individuals who have achieved either individual or programmatic excellence in engineering technology education. The annual award, endowed by Dr. Berger, carries an inscribed medallion and a $1000 award. The recipients are listed in table 2.

In addition to nurturing the society, Berger published a Tau Alpha Pi Journal, with the very able help over the years of his colleague and friend Dr. Lillian Gottesman. The Journal was first published twice a year, and later became an annual publication. Articles relevant to Tau Alpha Pi and engineering technology were solicited and Dr. Berger also wrote items for each Journal. Chapter news items were also included from the various chapters. The last Journal was published in 1995 when Dr. Berger's health made it difficult for him to continue. In the last issue of the Journal, Dr. Berger said, "To me as an educator, our greatest hope for shaping our destiny rests with education and the generation that we are educating."

Tau Alpha Pi stands for excellence in every aspect of engineering technology education. Tau Alpha Pi has a bright future. In 1998, at Dr. Berger's request, ASEE took over administrative responsibility for Tau Alpha Pi. One of Dr. Berger's last official acts (June 1997) was to establish an ad hoc advisory council to help with the transition to ASEE management. All materials and records were sent to ASEE Headquarters, along with a check for $29,411.00, at Dr. Berger's request. This transition approach gave Tau Alpha Pi the stability needed to ensure its continuation. It was Berger's parting gift to Tau Alpha Pi.

Since the transition, ASEE has strived to improve Tau Alpha Pi's standing within the academic community. The constitution of the society was revised in 1999 to accommodate a petition for Tau Alpha Pi's entrance into the Association of Collegiate Honor Societies (ACHS). The ACHS is the umbrella group for many honor societies including Tau Beta Pi and other engineering honor societies. Perhaps the single most obvious change to the constitution was the creation of a Board of Directors for the society, which met for the first time in January 2000. Society policy is set by the Board of Directors, which consists of volunteer ET leaders within ASEE. The Engineering Technology Council of ASEE has the ultimate responsibility for establishing and revising policy and the official documents of the Society (e.g., the Constitution and By-laws, Chartering Ceremony Ritual, etc.). Since ASEE began managing Tau Alpha Pi, more than 1600 students have been inducted into the society, representing the best engineering technology students at more than 90 colleges and universities nationwide.