The Tomahawk Service and Leadership Honor Society is a service-based honor society for independent students who are involved in other student activities. While at one time Tomahawk was a national society and had several member institutions, only the Purdue University chapter remains in operation today. Matthew Miller is currently President of the Algonquin Chapter at Purdue.
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History
Tomahawk was created through the merger of two existing student organizations - Sigma Iota ("Serve Indiana") at Indiana University and Tomahawk at the University of Illinois in 1946. Tomahawk expanded during the years following, charting several new chapters, including the Purdue University Algonquin Chapter in April 1949. Six total chapters of Tomahawk existed in the 1950s, but all chapters except for the one at Purdue University have ceased to exist.
Tomahawk was started as an all-male organization, but this changed in 1949 with the activation of the Purdue Chapter which did admit women to membership.
Membership
Founded as an honor society for independent students (students who were not members of social fraternities or sororities), Tomahawk maintains this membership standard to this day. Prospective members are expected to either be actively involved in another student organization on campus, or become involved in another student organization during the time of pledgeship. Pledges are also expected to have an acceptable grade point average, and successfully complete community service projects during the time of pledgeship.
Active members have historically been expected to perform several hours of community service to maintain their active status.
Alumni
Tomahawk does not have a formal alumni organization. There is a Tomahawk alumni presence on Facebook.