Having
a Kappa Delta Pi, International Honor Society, chapter affiliated
with your department and college or university brings a number of
benefits to both your students and your faculty. It gives the students
something to strive for academically, it rewards the academic achievements
of those chosen to join, and it serves to unite your top students
to organize and carry out (often in partnership with the faculty)
a variety of activities (such as career panels, professional development,
service learning projects, and social activities) that benefit all
of your students and your faculty as well. A
Kappa Delta Pi (KDP) chapter provides visibility for your department
or college and its programs, increasing their credibility and stature
with your university administration and local industry. As members
of KDP, your faculty members enhance their résumés and vita, not only
through membership alone, but also through the various opportunities
for professional involvement intrinsic to Society operations. These
opportunities include serving in the leadership roles of chapter counselor
on your campus and/or on one of KDP’s national committees. As Society
members, your professors may serve on review panels for KDP’s double-blind,
peer-refereed educational journals. They also have the opportunity
to publish in KDP publications and present at conferences.Note that Kappa Delta Pi admits both graduate and undergraduate students, so it doesn't matter to which of these groups your programs are oriented. Kappa Delta Pi works well at both levels, with a combined chapter offering the possibility of enhancing interactions between the graduate and undergraduate students for collaboration and expanded learning programming. Being active in KDP allowed our students to make additional professional development connections that not only look good on their résumés, but more importantly, added to their foundational understanding of teaching and learning. As a teacher educator, I see firsthand how KDP can strengthen the methods and theories taught in an undergraduate program to enable our students to be better teachers – Denisha Jones, faculty advisor, Indiana University University Benefits... Kappa Delta Pi promotes excellence on your campus. Our members prove through their academic records that they strive for excellence, and they bring that same spirit of excellence into their expectations for Kappa Delta Pi. Our members typically are some of the most motivated, creative, conscientious, and exemplary students on campus. KDP truly becomes the sum of the individual skills and talents of its members. Involvement in a KDP chapter provides members with an organization where they can collectively channel, amplify, and complement individual strengths to more effectively undertake projects and events that improve the campus, the community, and the members themselves. Kappa Delta Pi embraces shared values. The organization as a whole and its individual chapters embody and foster diversity. Membership is international, comprised of both men and women, and it does not discriminate on the basis of race, nationality, religion, physical limitations, sexual orientation or socio-economic status. KDP members are proud of the Society’s historically inclusive practice and view it as a major source of the organization’s strength and value. From its inclusion of women educators from its inception, unlike most honor societies in the early 1900s, KDP has been and continues to be progressive. This attribute extends to the promotion of lifelong learning, service to others, a network of close friendships, and the development of excellent educators and strong leaders as essential means to richer collegiate experiences, broader-based lives, and a better world. Kappa Delta Pi promotes student retention. With their induction into a university or college chapter, KDP members engage in campus-based programming, service learning activities, and professional- and skill-development programs geared toward increasing teacher retention. Through these programs, as well as training, roles, and programs in leadership, members are involved in activities that enhance their commitment, build peer communities, and establish productive relationships with faculty members—all of which have been proven to increase retention rates and persistence to graduation. Kappa Delta Pi boosts campus connections. A KDP chapter on campus builds in an influential community that can help your campus and College of Education shine. Many institutions with KDP chapters look to chapter members to serve as hosts for on-campus events sponsored by the education department or to plan as a chapter event or programs for all education students. KDP alumni often are asked to return to campus to share their experiences in the classroom and are tapped to assist as mentors or student-teacher supervisors. Alumni members also help with mock interviews during career preparation programs, which can help increase student-placement percentages. Chapters also serve as assistants during NCATE or other accreditation certification processes. Kappa Delta Pi complements rather than detracts from other existing organizations. KDP members tend to be some of the most involved students on campus. They routinely are involved in fraternal organizations, other honor societies, university athletics, student government, and community groups or churches. This phenomenon has led to many successful collaborative ventures between Kappa Delta Pi chapters and other campus organizations or greater community endeavors, such as literacy projects at shelters or in prisons. Through these joint undertakings, participants share ideas, learn team-building skills, and develop awareness and respect for other campus organizations, as well as an improved sense of community. Do you have a KDP chapter on your campus that is active and vital to your College of Education programming? KDP believes that the strength of a chapter and its members not only develops a better educator individually, but that the combined strengths of the chapter members backed by a dedicated counselor and the university’s commitment become an asset to the university to create potent teachers better prepared to lead in tomorrow’s classrooms. For more information on bring this potential to your College of Education and campus, please visit the KDP Web page, Start a Chapter. |