The Iron Shield Society, formerly the Iron Cross Society, is an exclusive undergraduate honors society at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

. The student organization was historically a

secret society A secret society is an organization about which the activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence ag ...

but the existence of the organization is now public and its members are publicly identified on their website. Society inductees who have graduated are also honored by having their names listed at the Memorial Union.

History

The Iron Shield Society was founded in 1902. The most visible accomplishment of Iron Shield is the founding of the Memorial Union. In 1907, the UW–Madison president asked Iron Shield members to help convert the failing

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

into a more meaningful student institution. Initially only open to men in their senior year of college, The Iron Shield later allowed both juniors and women to join. In 2011, the Iron Shield published an endorsement of the

Wisconsin Idea The Wisconsin Idea is a public philosophy that has influenced policy and ideals in the U.S. state of Wisconsin's education system and politics. In education, emphasis is often placed on how the Idea articulates education's role for Wisconsin' ...

in the ''

Badger Herald ''The Badger Herald'' is a newspaper serving the University of Wisconsin–Madison community, founded in 1969. The paper is published Monday through Friday during the academic year and occasionally during the summer. Available at newsstands acros ...

''. The open letter exhorted students to not just plug themselves into existing community organizations but to also think critically about which of their community's needs are not currently being met and how the skills learned in college could help students address those needs.Iron Cross Class of 2011.
Wisconsin Idea not a buzzword
. ''The Badger Herald'', December 6, 2011. In 2020, the organization decided to change its name from the ''Iron Cross Society'' to the ''Iron Shield Society'' to remove potential confusion of association with the Nazi Iron Cross or

Neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

organizations using the "Iron Cross" name.

Membership

Membership is open to men and women who are juniors or seniors. Unlike other UW–Madison honor societies, faculty, academic staff, student leaders, and student organizations all make nominations to the Iron Shield Society. The exact selection process is not known, but students' extracurricular, community accomplishments, and (to a lesser extent) GPA are taken into consideration. Nominations can be made via online form.

Notable alumni

* Kathy Cramer (1994), professor in the political science department at the

Russ Feingold Russell Dana Feingold ( ; born March 2, 1953) is an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States Senate, United States Senator from Wisconsin from 1993 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, h ...

(1975),

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

and Wisconsin State Senator *

Nathan Heffernan Nathan Stewart Heffernan (August 6, 1920 – April 13, 2007) was an American lawyer and judge. He was the 23rd Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court from 1983 to 1995. Earlier in his career he served as United States Attorney for the ...

(1942), former

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the state judicial system of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. In addition to hearing appeals of lower Wisconsin court decisions, the Wisconsin Supreme Court also ...

Chief Justice * William Beverly Murphy (1928), former president and CEO of

Campbell Soup Company The Campbell's Company (doing business as Campbell's and formerly known as the Campbell Soup Company) is an American company, most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products. The classic red-and-white can design used by many Campbe ...

* Pat Richter (1963), former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and athletic administrator.

References

External links

The Iron Shield Society"What is the Iron Cross Society?"
on the Wisconsin Union Blog
Ask Abe Q&A on the Iron Shield Society
{{University of Wisconsin–Madison University of Wisconsin–Madison Honor societies Collegiate secret societies Local fraternities and sororities 1902 establishments in Wisconsin Student organizations established in 1902 Student societies in the United States

History

Membership

Notable alumni

See also

References

External links