Honor: A Reality at Mary Baldwin College

Honor is a word you will hear a lot at Mary Baldwin College. It means you can leave your books in the library and expect them to be there when you return. It means your professors trust your work to be original. It means you will be recognized for working hard and being determined to reach your goals. The honor system, honor pledge, honors program, honors degree, and honor societies at MBC challenge each student to behave and perform her best.

Honor System
Soon after the Student Government Association was founded October 29, 1929, the first student leaders organized the Honor System, including an honor pledge. Each Fall on Charter Day, freshmen line up -- in view of upperclassmen -- to pledge by their signature their agreement, as follows:

Believing in the principles of student government, I pledge myself to uphold the ideals and regulations of the Mary Baldwin Community. I recognize the principles of honor and cooperation as the basis of our life together and shall Endeavour faithfully to order my life accordingly and to encourage others to fulfill the ideals of the honor system.

The Honor System and the pledge all students take lead to a rich college experience in an environment of trust, faith and, yes, honor.

For more information about the Honor System at Mary Baldwin College: www.mbc.edu/admission/honorsystem.asp

Honors Program
Not to be confused with the Honor System, the purpose of the Honors Program is to provide special opportunities for students motivated to reach greater academic heights. For those with exceptional abilities, this program also offers opportunities for independent and creative study.

For more information about the Honor Program at Mary Baldwin College: www.mbc.edu/docs/adm_docs/baileyap.pdf

Honors Scholars
All members of the Honors Programs are considered Honors Scholars, including Bailey Scholars, who may be admitted to the Honors Program as freshmen, based on their SAT scores, high school records, written application and interview. All students may apply for entry when they earn a 3.5 GPA after 24 hours of coursework. There are special privileges for those students meeting the high standards for entry into the Honors Program. This important aspect of academic life at Mary Baldwin College is explained in more detail at: www.mbc.edu/honors/

Honor Societies
Honor comes in to play yet again in the honor societies at Mary Baldwin College. MBC has been a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest and most respected honor society for excellence in liberal arts, since 1971. The college is one of only 270 colleges nationwide, or 11% of baccalaureate institutions, to shelter a chapter on campus (Lambda of Virginia). Mary Baldwin was also the first women's college to be granted The Laurel Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa, the national leadership honor society.

Mary Baldwin also offers the opportunity to be part of Alpha Lambda Delta, a national honor society recognizing excellent work by freshmen. One of the oldest honor societies on campus is Beta Beta Beta, for students in the biological sciences. If you are a woman in chemistry, you will want to work towards excellence for entry into Iota Sigma Pi, The Argentum Chapter. Mary Baldwin is the first women's college in the nation to have a chapter of Omicron Delta Epsilon, the honor society for economics. For those who excel in history, there is Phi Alpha Theta. Sigma Tau Delta is an international honor society for those in English.

For more information about honor societies at Mary Baldwin College: www.mbc.edu/academic/societies