The Pi Kappa Lambda collection contains records documenting the biennial conventions at which adding the School of Music in Ann Arbor was discussed, and meetings following the induction of the Chi chapter at which a representative of the chapter was present. General information on the history of the national organization is briefly included. Also included are lists of the bylaws and initiation rituals that the chapter implemented. Documentation of students who transferred to or from the Chi chapter are included, as well as lists of honorary members, new members inducted into the organization, and copies of the program for the Honors Assembly at which new members were recognized. Between the member lists and the programs for the Honors Assembly, the only year for which there is no documentation of new members is 1976. The collection also contains financial reports, meeting minutes of the Chi chapter, lists of officers and faculty members, lists of events sponsored by the organization, and information on the scholarships that the Chi chapter awarded. Scattered years of the national newsletter printed by the organization are included, which are from years when a member of the Chi chapter served as a national officer, a specific member of the organization was mentioned, or newsletters contained lists of the officers for all the chapters. The correspondences are primarily to and from the chapter president and the chapter secretary, though there are also some letters from members. The collection also contains one of the keys, in pin form, awarded to members of the society. This particular pin was intended to be passed down through each of the presidents of the Chi chapter.
Pi Kappa Lambda is a national music honor society that began in 1918 at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. The society's motto is "Peiro Kala Labein," or "Strive always for the beautiful." The purpose of the organization is to recognize and encourage those who have succeeded in attaining the highest level of musical achievement and academic scholarship. Students must be in the upper 1/5th of their class if they are seniors, the upper 1/10th if they are juniors, and graduate students must have A's in 2/3 of their classes in order to be offered membership. Faculty may also be accepted into the organization. In 1931 at the biennial convention of the society, there was discussion of asking the School of Music in Ann Arbor to join the society. It was not until 1945 that the Chi chapter was founded at the University of Michigan with Hardin Van Deursen serving as the chapter's first president. From 1946-1950, Earl V. Moore from the Chi chapter served as the national president of the organization, and William J. Weichlein of the Chi chapter held the same position from 1971-1976. In 1946, the Chi chapter recommended Olin Downes for an honorary membership in the organization. The Chi chapter has sponsored the School of Music Honors Assembly where new members of the Chi chapter are recognized. It has also honored the top three freshman and the two top sophomores in the School of Music, as well as awarded a stipend to the two top graduate students in the school. It is still an active chapter.
