Delta Sigma Rho () was a collegiate honor society devoted to the promotion of

public speaking Public speaking, is the practice of delivering speeches to a live audience. Throughout history, public speaking has held significant cultural, religious, and political importance, emphasizing the necessity of effective rhetorical skills. It all ...

(forensics). It merged with Tau Kappa Alpha, a similar organization, to form Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha in 1963.

History

Delta Sigma Rho was founded in Chicago on April 13, 1906.From the description of Delta Sigma Rho--Tau Kappa Alpha archives, 1939-1974. (Butler University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 43964512
/ref>Robson, John, ed. (1963). ''Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities'' (17th ed.). Menasha, Wisconsin: The Collegiate Press, George Banta Company, Inc. pp. 571-572. The founders at the organizing convention included representatives from

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

and

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

. The call for the meeting was issued by Professor Eugene E. McDermott of the

. The idea of the society came out of the simultaneous conception of the idea by McDermont and Professor Henry E. Gordon of

. The purpose of Delta Sigma Rho was "to encourage sincere and effective public speaking". Its 1920 constitution stated that charters could only be granted to institutions that had participated in intercollegiate forensic contests for five years. The society became a member of the

Association of College Honor Societies The Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS) is a voluntary association of national collegiate and post-graduate honor societies. It was established on December 30, 1925 by six organizations: Alpha Omega Alpha, the Order of the Coif, Phi B ...

in 1937. In 1963, Delta Sigma Rho had 85 active chapters and 20,100 members. Its headquarters was located at

DePauw University DePauw University ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Greencastle, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1837 as Indiana Asbury College and changed its name to DePauw University in 1884. The college has a Methodist heritage and was ...

Greencastle, Indiana Greencastle is a city in Greencastle Township, Putnam County, Indiana, United States, and the county seat of Putnam County. It is located near Interstate 70 approximately halfway between Terre Haute and Indianapolis in the west-central portion ...

. Delta Sigma Rho and Tau Kappa Alpha merged on August 18, 1963. The merged group adopted the name Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha.

Symbols

Delta Sigma Rho emblem was a diamond-shaped key with a star at the top, the Greek letters , and the date of the organization of the society (April 13, 1906) in relief. Its colors were maroon and black. Its publication was ''The'' ''Gavel,'' first published in 1912.

Members

To be eligible for membership, students had to be active in intercollegiate forensic contest and had to complete their sophomore year. In addition, they had to be in the top 35 per cent of their class.

Chapters

In 1963, Delta Sigma Rho had 85 active chapters.

Notable members

* Paul R. Anderson, president of

Chatham University Chatham University is a private university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Originally founded as a women's college, it began enrolling men in undergraduate programs in 2015. It enrolls about 2,110 students, including 1,002 undergraduate students and ...

and

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

* Samuel H. Blackmer, associate justice of the

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from Missouri and a circuit judge of the

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. * Louis B. Costello, general manager and president of ''

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'' and ''

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'' * Garfield V. Cox, economist and dean of the

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* John P. Davis, co-founded the

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and founder of ''Our World'' magazine * David Fellman, political scientist and constitutional scholar *

Rudolph Fisher Rudolph John Chauncey Fisher (May 9, 1897 – December 26, 1934) was an American physician, radiologist, novelist, short story writer, dramatist, musician, and orator. His father was John Wesley Fisher, a clergyman, his mother was Glendora Willia ...

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

radiologist Radiology ( ) is the medical specialty that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide treatment within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiation), but tod ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

, short story writer,

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...

, musician, and

orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14 ...

Marion Janet Harron Marion Janet Harron (September 3, 1903 – September 26, 1972) was an American lawyer and United States Tax Court judge from 1936 to 1970. She is also known for her five-year affair with Lorena Hickok. Harron was a frequent visitor at the ...

, lawyer and

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judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

Asher Hobson Asher Hobson (born November 26, 1889, in Quenemo, Osage County, Kansas; died February 29, 1992, in Blue Mounds, Dane County, Wisconsin) was an American agricultural economist. Life Education and personal life Asher Hobson graduated in 1913 wi ...

agricultural economist Agricultural economics is an applied field of economics concerned with the application of economic theory in optimizing the production and distribution of food and fiber products. Agricultural economics began as a branch of economics that specif ...

* John C. Holland,

Los Angeles City Council The Los Angeles City Council is the Legislature, lawmaking body for the Government of Los Angeles, city government of Los Angeles, California, the second largest city in the United States. It has 15 members who each represent the 15 city council ...

member *

Richard C. Hunter Richard Charles Hunter (December 3, 1884 – January 23, 1941) was an American attorney and Democratic politician from Nebraska. He was most prominent for his service as a United States Senator (1934–1935) and as Nebraska's state attorney gen ...

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and Nebraska State Attorney General *

Wellington Koo Koo Vi Kyuin (; January 29, 1888 – November 14, 1985), better known as V. K. Wellington Koo, was a Chinese diplomat, politician, and statesman of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China. Born in Shanghai, Koo studied at Colum ...

, diplomat and statesman of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

The Gavel of Delta Sigma Rho Volume 1 Number 4
/ref> *

Frank Licht Frank Licht (March 3, 1916May 30, 1987) was an American politician and the 67th Governor of Rhode Island from 1969 to 1973, serving as the first Jewish governor in Rhode Island state history. He was also an associate justice of the Rhode Island ...

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, associate justice of the

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, and the

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Benjamin Mays Benjamin Elijah Mays (August 1, 1894 – March 28, 1984) was an American Baptist minister and American rights leader who is credited with laying the intellectual foundations of the American civil rights movement. Mays taught and mentored many i ...

, Baptist minister and American rights leader *

Archie Palmer Archie MacInnes Palmer (1896-1985) was an American educator and academic administrator who served as 8th president of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga from 1938 to 1942. Biography Palmer was born May 9, 1896, in Hoboken, New Jersey, ...

, 8th president of the

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* Stanley M. Powell, member of the

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* Marshall Russell Reed,

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of The Methodist Church and the

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* Loren Reid, communication professor and the chair of the Department of Communication. at the

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, first

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and presidential speechwriter who coined the term "

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" * Tucker P. Smith, economics professor at

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and

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and the

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's nominee for

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in the

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

References