Sphinx Head
| Sphinx Head | |
|---|---|
 Sphinx Head Society emblem, 1891 | |
| Founded | October 11, 1890 Cornell University |
| Type | Senior honor society |
| Affiliation | Independent |
| Status | Active |
| Scope | Local |
| Chapters | 1 |
| Headquarters | Ithaca,New York United States |
TheSphinx Head Societyis the oldestsenior honor societyatCornell University.Sphinx Head recognizes Cornell senior men and women who have demonstrated respectable strength of character on top of dedication to leadership and service at Cornell University.[1]In 1929The New York Timesheld that election into Sphinx Head and similar societies constituted "the highest non-scholastic honor within reach of undergraduates."[2]
Founding
[edit]Sphinx Head was founded on October 11, 1890, by a group of ten men from the senior class.[3][4]The Society was founded to "create and maintain a stronger feeling" for Cornell University and to promote "a closer and stronger friendship among members of the Senior class."[3]The New York Timesreferred to Sphinx Head as "a secret senior society of the nature ofSkull and Bones",a senior honor society atYale Universityof whichAndrew Dickson White,Cornell University's co-founder and first president, was a member.[5]White encouraged the formation of a secret society system on the Cornell campus.[6]
In 1926, the society builta clubhouse for itself designed to resemble an Egyptian tombperched halfway down the cliff on theFall Creekgorge. It sold the building in 1969, and it eventually became the home and office of astronomerCarl Sagan.
Membership
[edit]
Each year, Sphinx Head taps fewer than forty men and women of the senior class for membership. Since the Society's founding, membership has been "reserved for the most respected" members of the senior class.[7]The names of newly tapped Sphinx Heads were published inThe New York Timesthrough the 1930s, but are now published exclusively inThe Cornell Daily Sun.[8][9][10]
Sphinx Head awards honorary membership to Cornell administrators, faculty, staff, and alumni for their "significant personal and/or professional accomplishment, outstanding leadership, distinguished service to the university, and interest in and commitment to undergraduate student life and development."[1]Notable honorary members of Sphinx Head includeTata SonsChairman EmeritusRatan Tata,Atlantic PhilanthropiesfounderChuck Feeney,and the 12th President of Cornell University,David Skorton.
Symbols and traditions
[edit]
Sphinx Head has "retained an aura of mystery throughout its history on campus", holding some "closely guarded secrets and traditions."[11]Although membership in Sphinx Head is public, the proceedings of the Society remain concealed.
Activities
[edit]Since founding the Society, Sphinx Head members have been responsible for starting many long-standing Cornell University traditions such as the annualDragon Daycelebration, the use of"The Big Red"to describe Cornell athletics, as well as Spring Fest, the precursor to the currentSlope Daycelebration.[7][12]
Notable members
[edit]Members of Sphinx Head have held many prominent positions within Cornell University serving as presidents, provosts, deans, directors of athletics, Cornell Council members, trustees, and chairpersons of the board of trustees. More than one-third of the presidents of the Cornell University Alumni Association have been members and twenty percent of the chairpersons of the Cornell University Board of Trustees have been affiliated with the Society.[13][14]Names of alumni can be found on the Cornell campus on Bartels Hall, Indimine Athletic Field,Samuel C. Johnson School of Business Management,Robert Kane Track,Jansen Noyes Community Center,Jerome H. Holland International Living Center,Robert Purcell Community Center,Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives,Willard Straight HallandUpson Hall.Numerous members are also profiled inThe 100 Most Notable Cornellians.[15]
References
[edit]- ^ab10 faculty and staff members honored by Sphinx Head society,page 14,Cornell Chronicle,December 7, 2007
- ^63 Juniors Elected to Cornell Societies,The New York Times,May 19, 1929, p. N3.
- ^ab"History of Some of the Later Cornell Organizations",Cornell Alumni News,December 18, 1901, p. 89.
- ^"The Sphinx Head: A Senior Society Recently Formed"Cornell DailySun, January 13th, 1891, p. 3.
- ^"Cornell University", The New York Times, May 10, 1891.
- ^The Secret Life of A.D. White | The Cornell Daily SunArchived2011-04-30 at theWayback Machine
- ^abWillard Straight Hall
- ^"Cornell Societies Elect",The New York Times,October 19, 1930.
- ^"Cornell Societies Elect New Members",The New York Times,May 13, 1926.
- ^"Cornell Societies Elect",The New York Times,October 14, 1938.
- ^"Secret's Out",Cornell Alumni Magazine,May/June 2003, p. 36.
- ^Cornell Alumni News,October, 1950
- ^Alumni Association: Larry Gubb, William Kleitz, Elbert Tuttle, Robert White, Walter Nield, Charles Werly, Richard Vanderwarker, Bruce Hackstaff, Joseph Driscoll
- ^Chairman: Becker, Purcell, Noyes; Mieing holds honorary membership.
- ^Altschuler, Glenn C.; Isaac Kramnick; R. Laurence Moore (2003).The 100 Most Notable Cornellians.Ithaca, N.Y.:Cornell University Press.ISBN0-8014-3958-2.