Cap and Skull is a co-educational senior honor society at Rutgers University in New Jersey. It was founded on January 18, 1900. Admission to Cap and Skull is dependent on excellence in academics, athletics, the arts, and public service. The organization considers leadership and character as factors for membership. Eighteen members are selected each year.
History On January 18, 1900, ten members of the senior class of Rutgers College met in the Chi Psi lodge to form Cap and Skull. Drawing inspiration from Skull and Bones and Quill and Dagger, Yale and Cornell's senior class honor societies, Cap and Skull aimed to form a similar honor society at Rutgers.
The ten founders drew up a constitution and adopted a code of secrecy and a motto. To ensure the exclusivity of the organization, the selection of a new member required a unanimous vote of the current members. In the first two decades, no more than 80 men joined the organization.
In the 1920s, the society began to reexamine its selection criteria to increase membership. Under the new system, each leadership position and honor on campus was awarded a point value, and students with the highest cumulative value were selected for induction. In 1923, in response to the growing student body, the number of members to be tapped each year was fixed at twelve and a tri-fold criterion for selection was established: Activities, athletic, and campus Scholarship Character and service to Rutgers With the onset of World War II, many members of the Rutgers community left college to serve in the military. Only ten members were selected for Cap and Skull in 1944, and no one was tapped in 1945. In October 1945, members of the administration who were also Cap and Skull members were asked to make nominations for the class of 1946.
Cap and Skull resumed the traditional twelve-member selection in 1948. On January 31, 1950, an all-day gala celebration was held in honor of Cap and Skull's golden anniversary—the first of the ten-year reunions that are still held today. The golden anniversary celebrated the 440 men selected as members of the society during those first fifty years.
Demise and rebirth Through the 1960s, sweeping social changes occurred and organizations such as Cap and Skull came under scrutiny. In 1969, Cap and Skull graduated its last class. Its alumni retained their ties and the underlying need for the organization remained. In 1981, Rutgers College students again discussed the need for an organization or honor that would recognize leadership contributions made by members of the senior class. Cap and Skull re-emerged in 1982, and a reunion was held to celebrate the tapping of new members.
In November 1990, the Cap and Skull Room was formally leased, solidifying Cap and Skull's physical presence on campus. In 2000, a large gala event was held for the 100th anniversary of Cap and Skull and members endowed an annual scholarship to Rutgers students. Author William B. Brahms, a society member, compiled a detailed history with full biographies of all inducted members of the first 100 years. It was privately printed by the society, but is available at the Rutgers University Special Collections and Archives.
Symbols The motto of Cap and Skull is Spectemur agendo or "Let us be judged by our actions". Its pillars are Spirit, History, and Tradition.
Membership Today, Cap and Skull represents many of the diverse organizations on campus and is now composed of undergraduate students from any of the university's reorganized schools. Formerly only members of Rutgers College (which had become co-educational in 1972) and Rutgers College affiliates from the School of Pharmacy, Engineering, and Mason Gross School of the Arts were tapped.
Admission to Cap and Skull is dependent on excellence in academics, athletics, the arts, and public service. The organization considers leadership and character as factors for membership. Using these criteria, only eighteen new members are selected each year.
Notable members Following are some of the notable members of Cap and Skull. NameInitiation NotabilityRichard H. Askin1969CEO of Tribune Entertainment and president of Samuel Goldwyn TelevisionAl Aronowitz1959Writer and friend of Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, Amiri Baraka, and George HarrisonJay M. Bernhardt1991President of Emerson College Samuel G. Blackman1927Editor with the Associated Press and reporter who broke the Lindbergh kidnapping story"Samuel G. Blackman; News Executive, 90" (obit), The New York Times, October 8, 1995.William B. Brahms1989Librarian, encyclopedist, author, and historian John J. Byrne1954Chairman and GEO of GEICO and chairman and CEO of White Mountains Insurance GroupClifford P. Case1925United States SenateJay Chiat1953Founder of TBWA\Chiat\Day advertising agencyHarry Cicma2004Tennis player and sports anchorStanley Norman Cohen1956Pioneer of gene splicingRobert Cooke1900First researcher to identify antihistaminesJames Dale1993Gay rights activist, and litigant in Boy Scouts of America v. DaleHomer Hazel1925All-American football player and member of the College Football Hall of Fame[ "Homer Hazel" at The College Football Hall of Fame] Accessed August 22, 2008.Alfred Ellet Hitchner1904Football player and coach,Franklyn A, Johnson1947President of Jacksonville University and Southwest Florida CollegeRobert E. Kelley1956Youngest lieutenant general in US Air Force history; superintendent of the United States Air Force AcademyHerbert Klein1951United States House of RepresentativesNorman M. Ledgin1950Journalist and authorRobert E. Lloyd1967Professional basketball player with the New York NetsT. David Mazzarella1962Editor of USA Today and president of Gannett InternationalAnne Milgram1992Attorney general of New Jersey Charles Molnar1956Inventor of the personal computerDavid A. Morse1929Director-general of International Labour Organization who accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 1969 on behalf of the ILORobert Nash1916First player traded in the National Football League and the first captain of the New York GiantsOzzie Nelson 1927Actor known for The Adventures of Ozzie and HarrietRichard Newcomb1936AuthorRandal Pinkett1993President and CEO of BCT Partners and winner of The Apprentice 4BCT Partners Accessed August 22, 2008.Rebecca Quick1993Anchor for CNBC Squawk BoxRey Ramsey1982Social justice entrepreneurRoland Renne1927President of Montana State University-BozemanPaul Robeson 1919Bass-baritone concert artist, actor, and professional football player[ "Paul Robeson" at The College Football Hall of Fame], Accessed August 22, 2008.Austin Wakeman Scott1903Professor at Harvard Law School John Scudder1923Physician and research pioneer in the field of blood storage and replacementWalter Spence 1934Member of the International Swimming Hall of FameDick Standish1964Anchor and reporter on television and radio at KYW-TV in Philadelphia
See also Rutgers University student organizations Collegiate secret societies in North America
References
External links
1912 The New York Times article on Cap and Skull inductees for the year.