Golden Key International Honour Society

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The Golden Key International Honour Society (formerly Golden Key National Honor Society) is an international collegiate honor society and non-profit organization based in the United States.<ref>IRS Search for Charities.</ref> It was founded in 1977 to recognize academic achievement among college and university students.

Golden Key has over 400 chapters at colleges and universities in Australia, The Bahamas, Canada, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, and the United States. It has initiated more than 2.1 million members.

History

Golden Key National Honour Society was founded by James W. Lewis at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia in 1977.<ref name=che>Andrew Brownstein, "Dishonor Society". The Chronicle of Higher Education. March 22, 2002.</ref><ref name=":052">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The original intent of the society was to create a new academic honor organization that was the equal of longstanding honor societies such as Phi Beta Kappa, but which did not carry the same perceived elitism of older institutions, operating more strictly on merit standards (by accepting students in the top fifteen percent of their college classes and permitting part-time and transfer students who excelled academically).<ref name=che/>

The society expanded throughout the 1980s on a minimal budget, increasing the number of schools at which it had chapters and membership at those chapters.<ref name="che" /> Lewis moved the institution's headquarters to a former Church of Christ Scientist building in the Druid Hills area of Atlanta in 1984.<ref name="che" /> In the late 1980s, the society began attracting corporate sponsorships, providing data about its students to its sponsors, and holding large sponsored networking events, arguing that the strategy increased students' competitiveness in the job market.<ref name="che" />

Golden Key became an international society when it expanded to the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia in 1993.<ref name="honisoit" /><ref name=":052"/> It changed its name to Golden Key International Honour Society in 2000 in order "to reflect [its] international presence".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Lewis, who by the late 1990s was making more than $300,000 as chairman of the organization, stepped down in January 2000 after being pressured by his board.<ref name="che" /> He was replaced by Carl Patton who resigned in 2002 after a round of negative press coverage about the society.<ref name="studlife">Paige Shamsi, Golden Key Honor Society comes under fire for lowering standards. Student Life, April 18, 2002.</ref><ref name="che" /><ref name="wp">Kristen Wyatt, Golden Key Shows Tarnish, Critics Say. Washington Post, April 21, 2002.</ref> By 2002, the society was "one of the largest collegiate honor societies in the world", with an annual budget of US$10.9 million and over 120,000 inductees annually.<ref name="che" />

Golden Key sought and was denied acceptance to the Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS) in 1984 and 1997.<ref name="che" /> Golden Key was accepted by the ACHS in 2005.<ref name=":052"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2012, the society had 393 active chapters, 82,415 active members, and 2,106,099 total initiates.<ref name=":052"/> Golden Key resigned from the Association of College Honor Societies in December 2013 after what the ACHS indicated was "a series of on-going discussions and correspondence."<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

Golden Key's main office is in Dunwoody, Georgia, with regional offices in Sydney, Australia, and Pretoria, South Africa.<ref name="gcn">Brian Carr, Golden Key International Honour Society: A Georgia original, recognizing young leaders worldwide. Georgia Center for Nonprofits, May 2015.</ref> It manages approximately 400 campus chapters worldwide.<ref name="gcn" /> The organization operates as a non-profit under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.

Golden Key medallion

Symbols

Golden Key's motto is {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or "Unlock your potential". The society's core values or pillars are integrity, collaboration, innovation, respect, diversity, excellence and engagement.<ref name=":052" />

At commencement, Golden Key members may wear a royal blue and golden yellow ribbon attached to their mortar board or a gold and royal blue cord.<ref name=":6">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Its honor stole is a gold satin sash embroidered with a Golden Key logo in blue. The Gold Key medallion is gold colored and hangs from a ribbon that is royal blue and gold.<ref name=":6" /> Members who have the highest GPA in four undergraduate divisions may wear the medallion.<ref name=":6" />

Membership

Golden Key membership is open to sophomores, juniors, seniors, graduate students, and alumni who graduated in the past year.<ref name=":5">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Membership is by invitation and is offered to students in any academic field who are in the top fifteen percent of their class and have a GPA of 3.75 or better.<ref name="wp" /><ref name=":5" /><ref name=":3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The society also awards honorary memberships to non-students who are impactful or noteworthy leaders on campus and in the university's community.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Activities

In its early years, Golden Key anticipated volunteerism drives on college campuses by organizing community service efforts, such as working in soup kitchens, reading to children at libraries, and doing tax preparation help for low-income and immigrant populations.<ref name="wp" /> Since chapters are not centrally managed, charity and volunteer efforts are now fostered through a system called SPARK a Change, which allows chapters to determine the causes they support and the level of involvement of students.<ref name="gcn" />

Golden Key offers résumé and graduate program assistance, career planning and opportunities, leadership opportunities in local chapters, and networking events. It also offers scholarships, awards, research grants, travel support for academic conference attendance, and student loan debt relief to its members.<ref name="gcn" />

Chapters

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Golden Key has more than 400 chapters at colleges and universities in Australia, The Bahamas, Canada, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, and the United States.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":5" /> It founded chapters in the following countries in:<ref>Golden Key | FAQs</ref>

  • 1977 – United States of America
  • 1993 – Australia
  • 1997 – Canada
  • 1998 – Malaysia
  • 1999 – New Zealand
  • 2000 – South Africa
  • 2010 – The Bahamas
  • 2011 – India

Notable members

Collegiate members

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  • Michelle Deshong, indigenous Australian equality activist<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Neil Druckmann, video game designer<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Souzan El-Eid (1985), surgical oncologist<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Elaine, R&B singer<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Staci Keanan, attorney and actress<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Joe Nathan, professional baseball player<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Norman Robinson, television news reporter<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Field Ruwe, journalist and author<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Honorary members

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  • Susannah Carr, television news presenter<ref>Bell, Nicholle (2001) Seven News keeps on delivering for Susannah in Standard (West Perth, W.A)</ref><ref>Kent, Melissa (2005) The anchor woman in the West Magazine, in The West Australian 7 May 2005, p.12-14</ref>
  • Bill Clinton, President of the United States<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Stephen King, author<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Zareef Minty, South African politician and television personality<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Controversies

A 1999 article in the University of British Columbia student newspaper, The Ubyssey, examined the society's finances and scholarship practices after it established a chapter on campus in 1998.<ref name="ubyssey">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> Ubyssey obtained the organization's IRS filings for 1997 and noted "Golden Key spent just $289,461 (US dollars) on scholarships, less than 5 percent of their total expenditures for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1997."<ref name=ubyssey/> Golden Key reported on its website in 2009 that it had increased scholarship disbursals to over $500,000 annually,<ref name=nebraskan>Students should take caution when picking honor societies. The Daily Nebraskan, February 10, 2009.</ref> but a later report indicated that spending on member events and scholarships in 2014 was less than $200,000.<ref name=honisoit/> A 2002 report by The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that there were conflicts within the society's administration over the lowering of academic standards required for admission and inflated recruitment numbers from local university chapters.<ref name=che/> The society's aggressive marketing techniques toward eligible members were criticized in 2002 by the president of the National Collegiate Honors Council.<ref name=ajc/>

The business practices of Golden Key also attracted the Chronicle's notice, as well as that of The Washington Post. Sponsoring corporations, who paid a minimum of $55,000 a year (2002) to access Golden Key's membership lists, sent students "mass mailings for such products as credit cards and auto insurance."<ref name=wp/> Golden Key responded to these criticisms by stating that it was standard practice among alumni groups and honor societies.<ref name=wp/> The Chronicle quoted former employees who thought the institution's expenditures on parties and upper executive salaries, as well as its maintenance of the Druid Hills headquarters, were lavish and inconsistent with the former ideal of "a student-centered, nonprofit organization."<ref name=che/> The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported poor accounting practices under Lewis's tenure in the late 1990s, and investigators were unable to determine exactly how much he was paid due to bookkeeping discrepancies.<ref name=ajc>John McCosh, "Golden Key founder loses luster". Atlanta Journal-Constitution, April 6, 2002.</ref> A 2016 investigation by Australian student newspaper Honi Soit found that Golden Key continued to release data about students, without their consent, to corporate sponsors.<ref name=honisoit>Tom Joyner, The Honour Society. Honi Soit, May 31, 2016.</ref>

Some students reported to student newspaper investigators that they were unsure of the society's benefits<ref>Will McDonald, Golden Key honour society holds national networking summit Template:Webarchive. Ubyssey, February 8, 2012.</ref> or did not find the society's networking opportunities worth the cost of membership.<ref name=honisoit/> Honi Soit also noted that society staffers altered the Golden Key International Honour Society Wikipedia page to burnish the institution's image.<ref name=honisoit/>

See also

References

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Template:Association of College Honor Societies Template:Authority control

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