Records of Alpha Lambda Delta, Adele H. Stamp Chapter
Collection
0084-UA
The University of Maryland Chapter of Alpha Lambda Delta was founded in 1932 as the Freshman Women's Honor Society. The chapter became known as the Adele H. Stamp Chapter in 1960. In 1975, Alpha Lambda Delta opened initiation to freshman men and began serving as an honor society for all freshman students. The collection contains membership records, financial records, annual reports, meeting minutes, award programs, correspondence, national and local publications, photographs, scrapbooks, memorabilia, and information on chapter activities and on chapter history.
Materials of a sensitive nature, such as those containing personally identifiable information, are restricted for 75 years or the life of the individual and may by screened and removed by special collections staff. Please speak with a staff member if you believe that materials have been unnecessarily removed.
Photocopies of original materials may be provided for a fee and at the discretion of the curator. Please see our Duplication of Materials policy for more information. Queries regarding publication rights and copyright status of materials within this collection should be directed to the appropriate curator.
3.50 Linear Feet (3.5 linear feet, 429 photographs, and 2 items)
429 Photographs
2 Items
3.50 Linear Feet
The Records of Alpha Lambda Delta date from 1932 to 1999, with the bulk of the material covering the years 1960 through 1999. The collection includes membership records, financial records, annual reports, meeting minutes, award programs, correspondence, national and local publications, photographs, scrapbooks, memorabilia, and information on chapter activities and on chapter history.
In the spring of 1924 the University of Illinois Dean of Women, Maria Leonard, and the Assistant Dean of Women, Gladys Pennington, founded the national chapter of Alpha Lambda Delta (ALD). Adele H. Stamp, Dean of Women at the University of Maryland, established the Freshmen Women's Honor Society, later known as the University of Maryland Chapter of ALD, in 1932. In 1960, the University of Maryland Chapter became known as the Adele H. Stamp Chapter, in honor of the chapter founder at the time of her retirement as Dean of Women. Besides founding the ALD University of Maryland Chapter, Stamp served as the national treasurer of ALD for fifteen years. ALD encouraged freshmen women to achieve high academic standards and promoted "intellectual living." In the fall of 1975, ALD opened initiation to freshmen men and began serving as an honor society for all freshman students.
Several prominent University of Maryland women have served as advisors to ALD including Adele H. Stamp, Dr. Virginia Beauchamp, Dr. Helen E. Clarke, and Dr. Katherine Pedro Beardsley. Notable on and off-campus individuals have also attended ALD initiations as guest speakers and have been made honorary members of ALD. Dr. Glenda Earwood-Smith, the Executive Director of National Alpha Lambda Delta, and University of Maryland President C. D. Mote, Jr., attended a 1997-1998 ALD Order of the Torch ceremony.
Initiates to ALD are required to meet high academic standards in order to attain membership. A student can be admitted during the first or second semester of his or her freshman year and must have a minimum G.P.A. of 3.5 with no incompletes or failures. Initiation ceremonies are usually held both in the fall and in the spring. ALD members spend much time and effort preparing for the initiation ceremonies, which usually include live music, prominent guest speakers, and various campus locations.
The Adele H. Stamp Chapter of Alpha Lambda Delta is involved in many and varied activities. ALD has a history of community service and campus leadership, and the organization's activities center around these traditions. In the past, ALD held fundraisers for charity and members acted as hostesses at various University of Maryland functions. More recently, ALD has participated in community service projects such as feeding the homeless, visiting the elderly, helping children with special needs, and cleaning up the environment. ALD members have also attended regional and national leadership conferences and workshops. In addition, ALD has promoted academic achievement to non-members through a long tradition of tutoring services and the "Been Caught Studying" program.
Alpha Lambda Delta continues to be active at the University of Maryland as part of the Primannum Honor Society. The Primannum Honor Society unites the two national honor societies of Alpha Lambda Delta and Phi Eta Sigma.
The collection is organized in four series.
The University of Maryland Libraries received the Records of Alpha Lambda Delta on May 2, 2002, from Katherine Pedro Beardsley, Ph.D., Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. Dr. Beardsley has served as the Alpha Lambda Delta faculty advisor from 1989 to the present time. Peggy Marks of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences transferred additional materials in 2003. Dr. Helen E. Clarke donated the 1932 Founding Charter for the University of Maryland Chapter of Alpha Lambda Delta in 1986.
The Records of Alpha Lambda Delta have been placed in acid-free folders and boxes. Accessions 2002-267 and 2004-77 were processed together. Metallic clips and other metal fasteners have been removed and replaced with plastic clips over strips of acid-free paper. Newspaper clippings were photocopied onto acid-free paper and discarded. Acid-free paper was interleaved between documents that appeared to be made of acidic paper. Obviously misfiled items were moved to their proper place, and duplicate copies of documents were discarded.
Scrapbooks, originally in three ring binders and adhesive photo albums, were dismantled, placed in acid-free folders, and left in their original order. Decorative covers of scrapbooks were color photocopied. If scrapbooks contained plastic tab dividers, these dividers were removed and replaced with acid-free dividers. Scrapbook photographs were removed from their original pages and placed in Mylar sleeves. An acid-free separation sheet and acid-free photocopies of the photograph pages were left in the folders. These photocopies attempt to preserve the original look of the scrapbook as well as original photograph captions. Duplicate acid-free copies of photograph captions were also interfiled with sleeved photographs. All original scrapbook binders and albums were discarded with the exception of the Alpha Lambda Delta Spring 1971-Spring 1974 Scrapbook. This scrapbook was left as accessioned; no photographs, pamphlets, or other documents were removed because these items were glued onto the scrapbook pages. Acid-free sheets were placed between the pages of this scrapbook as a temporary preservation measure. More preservation work on this scrapbook may be necessary in the future.
Restricted documents have been pulled from their original folders and placed in separate folders so that patrons can view the files in which these documents are found. A sheet of acid-free paper with a brief notation denotes the original place of these restricted documents in the folders. Only the folders that contain the restricted documents are marked as restricted.
Part of the Special Collections and University Archives