SPURS National Honor Society

SPURS National Honor Society was an American collegiate sophomore honor society. It was established in 1922 at Montana State University and disbanded in 2005. Several chapters remain in operation as independent, local societies.

History

SPURS was founded at Montana State University at Bozeman as an honor society and service club for sophomore women in 1922. It was sponsored by the local chapter of Mortar Board honor society to support and encourage student service to the university. Its purpose was to encourage women to have loyalty and to serve the university and to promote and support school spirit, campuswide student events, and campus traditions,
Chapters were established at smaller colleges and universities in the United States. Most chapters volunteered to help with freshmen orientation and homecoming, tutored, and ushered for campus events. Originally a women-only organization, its male counterpart was the Intercollegiate Knights. Its alumnae association for juniors was called the Stirips. SPURS became co-educational in 1976.
By 2006, the honor society was down to eleven active chapters, with only half being strong. There was also a lack of interest in members filling national officers. The national SPURS organization dissolved on by decision of its October 2005 national convention. After SPURS ceased operations, a few chapters continued as local honor societies. The chapter at Linfield College continued as a local honor society that included sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Students at the University of Arizona reinstalled SPURS as a club in 2017.
The Montana State University SPURS chapter decided to merge with the MSU Student Alumni Foundation the following year, along with the dissolved society Fangs which was a branch of the Intercollegiate Knights. The alumni association holds SPURS and Fangs reunions. It also coordinated the Spurs & Fangs/Student Alumni Association.

Symbols

The name SPURS was the monogram of the society's pillars: Service, Patriotism, Unity, Responsibility, and Sacrifice. Its motto was "At Your Service".
The SPURS badge was a small gold spur attached to a chain. Its colors were blue and gold. Members wore dresses of blue and gold when volunteering for the university. Its flower was the yellow chrysanthemum. Its quarterly newsletter was called The Spur.
SPURS celebrated its Founders' Day annually on February 14.

Membership

Members were sophomores who were selected for their academic accomplishments, leadership, and student activities. They were required to have a GPA 3.0 or better. Potential members were recruited and initiated at the end of their freshman year.

Chapters

Following is a list of known SPURS chapters, with inactive institutions in italics.

Number	Charter date and range	Institution	Location	Status
1	–	Montana State University	Bozeman, Montana	Withdrew
	Before 1928	Oregon State University	Corvallis, Oregon	Inactive
	1925	University of Utah	Salt Lake City, Utah	Inactive
5	1925	University of Puget Sound	Tacoma, Washington	Withdrew
	1928	Utah State University	Logan, Utah	Inactive
	1931	Colorado State University	Fort Collins, Colorado	Inactive
	1931 –	University of Redlands	Redlands, California	Inactive
15		Butler University	Indianapolis, Indiana	Inactive
	1937 –	University of Arizona	Tucson, Arizona	Inactive
	1942	Washington State University	Pullman, Washington	Inactive
	1947 –	Linfield College	McMinnville, Oregon	Withdrew
		University of New Mexico	Albuquerque, New Mexico	Inactive
	1949	Idaho State University	Pocatello, Idaho	Inactive
	1950	Whitman College	Walla Walla, Washington	Inactive
	-	Gonzaga University	Spokane, Washington	Inactive
	1955	Arizona State University	Tempe, Arizona	Inactive
	1955	University of the Pacific	Stockton, California	Inactive
	1957	University of Texas at El Paso	El Paso, Texas	Inactive
	1958	New Mexico State University	Las Cruces, New Mexico	Inactive
	1960	California [State University, Long Beach]	Long Beach, California	Inactive
	1961	Adams State College	Alamosa, Colorado	Inactive
	1964	University of Nevada, Reno	Reno, Nevada	Inactive
	1965	California State University, Fresno	Fresno, California	Inactive
	1965	Emporia State University	Emporia, Kansas	Inactive
	1966	Eastern New Mexico University	Portales, New Mexico	Inactive
	1966	Jamestown College	Jamestown, North Dakota	Inactive
	1966	University of Idaho	Moscow, Idaho	Inactive
	1966	Wichita State University	Wichita, Kansas	Inactive
	1967	Fort Wright College	Toppenish, Washington	Inactive
		Marylhurst University	Marylhurst, Oregon	Inactive
	1968	University of Northern Colorado	Greeley, Colorado	Inactive
	1969	Minnesota State University, Mankato	Mankato, Minnesota	Inactive
	1974	Fort Hays State University	Hays, Kansas	Inactive
		Brigham Young University	Provo, Utah	Inactive
		California Lutheran University	Thousand Oaks, California	Inactive
		California State University, Chico	Chico, California	Inactive
		Carroll University	Waukesha, Wisconsin	Inactive
		Central Washington University	Ellensburg, Washington	Inactive
		Colorado Women's College	Aurora, Colorado	Inactive
		Eastern Washington University	Cheney, Washington	Inactive
		Humboldt State University	Arcata, California	Inactive
	19xx ?–1995	Kansas State University	Manhattan, Kansas	Withdrew
		Montana State University Billings	Billings, Montana	Inactive
		Minnesota State University Moorhead	Moorhead, Minnesota	Inactive
		Montana Tech of [the University of Montana]	Butte, Montana	Inactive
		New Mexico Highlands University	Las Vegas, New Mexico	Inactive
		Northern Arizona University	Flagstaff, Arizona	Inactive
		Northern Montana University	Havre, Montana	Inactive
		Northern State University	Aberdeen, South Dakota	Inactive
		University of Denver	Denver, Colorado	Inactive
		Pacific Lutheran University	Parkland, Washington	Inactive
		Pacific University	Forest Grove, Oregon	Inactive
		Rocky Mountain College	Billings, Montana	Inactive
		San Diego State University	San Diego, California	Inactive
		Seattle University	Seattle, Washington	Inactive
		University of Alaska Fairbanks	College, Alaska	Inactive
		University of California, Santa Barbara	Santa Barbara, California	Inactive
		University of California, Los Angeles	Los Angeles, California	Inactive
		University of Colorado	Boulder, Colorado	Inactive
		University of Great Falls	Great Falls, Montana	Inactive
		University of Mary	Bismarck, North Dakota	Inactive
		University of Minnesota	Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota,	Inactive
		University of Montana	Missoula, Montana	Inactive
		University of Nebraska at Kearney	Kearney, Nebraska	Inactive
		University of Nevada, Las Vegas	Paradise, Nevada	Inactive
		University of Portland	Portland, Oregon	Inactive
		University of Wyoming	Laramie, Wyoming	Inactive
		Western Montana College	Dillon, Montana	Inactive