Sigma Delta Pi National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society - Lambda Tau Chapter

On Friday, November 14, 1919 at the University of California, Berkeley, a junior undergraduate student named Ruth Helen Barnes invited six other students of Spanish to her residence to start what would eventually become the largest collegiate foreign language honor society in the U.S.: Sigma Delta Pi, the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society/La Sociedad Nacional Honoraria Hispánica. After that initial meeting and less than six months later on Saturday, May 1, 1920, the Society’s first formal induction ceremony took place at founding member Miriam Burt’s home in Berkeley, CA. Today, November is celebrated annually as National Charter Month, and May 1 is commemorated as “Día de Sigma Delta Pi”/Sigma Delta Pi Day.

Sigma Delta Pi’s insignia is the royal seal of Fernando and Isabel, representing Castille, León and Aragón; its colors are red and gold, its flower the red carnation, and its motto  the Greek phrase “Spanías Didagéi Proágomen” meaning “Let’s go forth/continue forth under the teaching/guidance of the Spanish language.” Since July 2010, Sigma Delta Pi’s national headquarters is located at the College of Charleston in South Carolina.

Per Sigma Delta Pi’s national by-laws, the Society’s purpose/mission is multi-faceted:

1. To honor those who excel in the study of the Spanish language and in the study of the literature and culture of the Spanish-speaking world;
2. To foster an understanding, appreciation and respect for the peoples, cultures and societies of the Spanish-speaking world;
3. To honor those who have promoted and reinforced a better understanding of the contributions of the Spanish-speaking world;
4. To serve its membership in support of the Society’s goals and ideals.