Who’s Who in Your Chapter

There are a lot of roles to fill in an Order of Kush chapter, from new member to president. Here’s a look at the structure of a typical chapter.

Advisor and Co-advisors

Your advisor is key. A member of the history or anthropology staff of your school, your advisor takes responsibility for everything your chapter does in the eyes of your school administration, your community, and the national office.

Your advisor may, if needed, appoint any other adult to be a co-advisor for the chapter. Co-advisors help chapter advisors plan chapter activities and run events.

Student Officers

Student officers also help the chapter advisor, but each officer has a particular role within the chapter.

The president helps members reach chapter goals and the goals of the honor society by presiding at meetings (hence the name “president”) and by helping conduct the induction ceremony and election of officers for the following school year.

The vice president presides at meetings when the president is absent and assists the president as needed. The vice president can also act as the chairperson for a variety of chapter projects.

The secretary takes care of a lot of the chapter paperwork. The secretary writes letters for the chapter, keeps a record of who attends meetings, and takes meeting minutes.

The treasurer handles the chapter’s money, including payments for membership pins and cards, all money donated to the chapter, and keeps track of receipts. The chapter advisor looks over these records through the year to make sure the accounts are in order.

The historian keeps a record of all programs presented by the chapter, including pictures and newspaper articles; serves as the publicity chair (the person who gets the word out to the school and community about what your chapter is up to); and is responsible for putting together your chapter’s Chapter of the Year entry.

The advisor can select other officers to meet particular chapter needs. The above descriptions can also be changed by the advisor at any time.

Executive Committee

Some active members will also be members of the executive committee for their chapter. What’s an executive committee? The group of people who make decisions about what your chapter does. It’s made up of your chapter advisor (and any co-advisors selected by the advisor to help with chapter activities) and student officers.