THIS IS THE
MORTAR BOARD PALLAS CHAPTER BACKUP ADVISOR'S SITE RUN BY
GERARD WILLIGER
2025 CHOCOLATE SALE!
ORDER FEB 7, PICK-UP IN SAC FEB 11-13
CLICK HERE
FOR DETAILS
Mortar Board is currently
taking applications via Engage. The deadline is
11:59pm on Thu Feb 27.
Preferred requirements: graduate in Dec 2025, May
2026 or Dec 2026.
Exceptional cases can graduate in May 2027.
Preferred GPA: top 35% of junior-senior class, with a
minimum of 3.00.
We seek Excellence in scholarship, leadership and/or
service.
Click HERE
to apply.
There
is a one-time $100 lifetime application fee.
If you are graduating in May or August 2025, you cannot
apply as a student, but you
can apply apply to become an alumni assistant, with no fee
involved. Please contact
Advisor Dr. Gerard Williger for details for free
membership at gmwill06 [at] louisville dot edu
Mortar Board
is the national senior honorary celebrating students
excelling
in scholarship, leadership and service. The national
site is here.
The national constitution/by-laws are here (click
on "Governing Documents")
Since its establishment in 1918,
around a quarter of a million members have been initiated at
over 200 chartered chapters across the nation.
The Pallas Chapter has over 1500 alumni dating back to 1949,
and the chapter has existed as the Pallas Club
since 1932. Mortar
Board provides opportunities for continued leadership
development, promotes service to colleges and universities and
encourages lifelong contributions to the global
community. Additionally,
Mortar Board offers numerous benefits and opportunities to
members, including career networking, fellowships and awards.
The Pallas Chapter of Mortar Board
has a long tradition of encouraging scholarship, leadership
and service at the
University of Louisville. Some of our better-known
traditions are
the official University
campus planner (from 1979-2010) and flower sales at
graduation. We also have a
history of generating scholarship support for graduate or
professional education.
The Pallas Chapter latest Constitution and By-laws are here.
Current officer descriptions are here.
A typical year in Mortar Board is described here.
Donate
to the Pallas chapter (tax-deductible).
NEWS:
A Mortar Board Advisor won a National
Excellence
Advising Award in 2024, one of six in the US
Chapter meetings/activities
(normally once every two weeks) in 2024-25:
Sep 19 - chapter meeting
Oct 9 - chapter
meeting
Oct 9- chapter meeting
Oct 10 -
chapter meeting
Oct
17 - chapter
meeting
Oct 26 -
Service event,
with Student
Parent
Association,
stuffing
Halloween bags
Nov
7 - chapter
meeting
Nov 16 -
Service event,
helping to
weed in
Korhage Garden
Nov
18 - chapter
meeting
Nov 22 -
Service event,
helping make
supply packets
for SOS International
Dec
1 - chapter
meeting
Dec 15 - Fall
Commencement
Flower Sales
Jan 18 -
chapter
meeting
Jan 30 -
chapter
meeting
Feb 11-13 - tabling at the SAC
Feb
13 - chapter
meeting
Feb
27 - chapter
meeting
Mar 3 - selection
Mar 31 - orientation for new members, tentatively 6:30pm, room TBA
Apr 9 - induction for new members, 5pm Floyd Theater
By Apr 24 - new officer elections
Current 2024-2025
members (Feb 2025)
*Kennedy Abner
Mbabazi Alliance - VP
*Gabriela Andrews-Morales (grad 12/24)
Khadija Awale - Flower Sales Chair
*Lauren Ballard
Trey Benz (grad 12/24)
*Jacey Birch
Grace Chan - Social Media Chair
Luis Cho Wendehake
Exavier Douglas - Secretary
Theodore Durden
*Ella Freeman
Hilifti Gebru (grad 12/24)
Dakota Hack
*Madir Hall
*Amy Hendrix
*Dammy Jeboda - Historian
Collin Lazare
Colby Lentell - President
*Carrigan Lyons
Natasha Martinez
*Caitlyn Morgan
Megan Murphy
Alice Palmer
Jana Peters
Brady Smith
Madyson Smith
Natalia Stanley
*Shikha Surupa - Recruitment Chair
*Dominic
Sutkamp (grad 12/24)
Alexia VonHandorf (grad 12/24)
Tashiana Walker - Service Chair
*Angela Wilburn
*continuing member
Asst. Alumni Advisors: Farhiya Awale '23,
Sydney Gardner-Green '24, Katherine
Hafendorfer '24, Sarah Moser '22
Advisor: Gerard Williger (Physics &
Astronomy)
Event Advisor: Reilly Brown '19,
Trunk-or-Treat (Dept. of Enterprise Risk and Insurance)
We
always welcome
assistant/co-advisors - we
invite UL faculty, staff
and grad students to help!
Honorary
Members of the Pallas
Chapter
Our honorary members illustrate excellence in
scholarship,
leadership and
service, and
include 7
previous
Presidents or
Acting
Presidents of
UofL!
PAST
PROJECTS (WHICH MAY BE
RE-STARTED)
University
of Louisville Academic Hall of Fame
We honor
scholars -- undergraduate, graduate and faculty
-- who win national or international
awards/scholarships.
This includes Boren, Fulbright, Goldwater, NSF
Graduate, Rhodes, Gates, Truman
and Whitaker Bioengineering. We welcome
corrections/additions to this list.
This is a long-term project by the Pallas
Chapter of Mortar Board.
ANNUAL LECTURES
Our 2016 lecture was "Inspired - From Africa to
Louisville: A Journey of Resilience and Caring
for Others",
by UofL student and Mortar Board member Filder
Auma. It was at 5pm on Mon. Feb. 15, 2016 in the
Chao Auditorium, Ekstrom Library. It is
co-sponsored by the Dept. of Women's & Gender
Studies.
Admission will be free and open to the public.
See details here.
We recorded the lecture, and Zerric Baskett (our very
active historian) put it up on YouTube here.
Our
2015 lecture was "The Business of College
Sports",
by Kristi Dosh (the Sports
Biz Miss, also an adjunct
professor at U. North Florida). It was
at 6pm on Thu. Sep. 24, 2015 in the Chao
Auditorium, Ekstrom Library, with a
book signing
outside the auditorium at 5:30pm. Admission
was free and open to the public. See
details here.
We recorded the lecture and put it up on
YouTube here.
Our
2014 lecture was "Does College Cost Too Much",
by Robert Martin (Centre College), at 7pm on Wed. Jan.
29, 2014
in Davidson Hall 109. Admission was free and
open to the public.
See details here.
We have put the video up on YouTube via the details
site.
Advisors to the U.
Louisville Pallas Chapter (partial list)
NEW
2025 PROJECTS:
Chocolate Sale
(free
delivery)
Mortar Board
stickers
NEW
2022 PROJECT
and News:
Annual Alumni
Newsletter
Congratulations
to Asst.
Advisor Reilly
Brown for
winning
a national
Excellence in
Advising Award
(one of only a
few
given across
the US)!
Congratulations
to Jacob
Schagene ('22)
for being a
finalist
for the Mortar
Board National
Starlington
(outstanding
member) Award!
NEW
2021 PROJECT and
News:
Trunk-or-Treat
at Cardinal Stadium
2021 Golden Torch Award
(outstanding chapter,
24 given nationally)
2019
News:
2019 Golden Torch Award
(outstanding
chapter)
2017
News:
2017 Golden Torch Award
(outstanding
chapter)
SELECTED
2017-21
PROJECTS:
Move-in
help in August -
volunteering
Trunk-or-Treat -
held at Cardinal
Stadium
Flower sales at
graduation (every
semester)
Muffins with Mortar
Board - distribution
during finals weeks
Finals Week Study
Space
SELECTED
2016-17 PROJECTS:
Move-in help in August - volunteering
Flower sales at graduation (every semester)
Muffins with Mortar Board - distribution
during finals weeks
Bullitt Lecture in Astronomy - putting up
posters
Academic evening with Society of Physics
Students
Ronald McDonald House volunteer evening
Surgeries on Sunday - volunteering
re-wrote constitution
plus social events
SELECTED
2015-16
PROJECTS::
Academic Hall of Fame
Business of College Sports Lecture, Sep. 24,
2015 (see above)
Flower sales at graduation (every semester)
Alumni directory
campaign - information gathered from
UofL Alumni Association and Mortar
Board national office
Bullitt
Lecture in
Astronomy
- put up posters
to advertise the
talk, Oct. 8,
2015
Help
with Sister
Cities of
Louisville
gala, Oct.
21, 2015
From Africa to
Louisville
lecture, Feb.
15, 2016
continuing
study to revive the UofL/Mortar
Board Planner with Mortar Board
Alumni help
CONGRATULATIONS
TO MORTAR BOARD MEMBER LOUIS
CURTIS, OUR DEC. 2015 Dec
18 COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER! Here is
an excerpt from his commencement
address:
"...All
of us came to this point in our
lives through any enormous variety
of paths. Regardless of the
path we took, this is our day to
celebrate our achievements and be
rewarded for our hard work.
With this degree, some may be
relieved the studying, hard work,
and
dedication is over with; another
obstacle in life has been overcome.
But this leads me to a quote by
Alfred Souza. `For a long time
it had seemed to me that life was
about to begin --‐ real life.
But there was always some obstacle
in the way, something to be gotten
through first, some unfinished
business, time still to be served,
or a debt to be paid. Then
life would begin. At last it
dawned on me that these obstacles
were my life.' I’ve always
found this quote to be very
relatable. It is saying that
there is no better time to be happy
than right now. Happiness
isn’t a currency that you cash in
with the completion of every life
event. Don’t wait to be
content until you find your career,
until you move in to a house, until
the end of the work week, until you
lose enough weight, until that last
final exam is completed… which is
now! Be happy in your present,
in what you have, in your potential,
in your friendships. ...
"
Photo
gallery link
SELECTED 2014-15 PROJECTS:
Academic Hall of Fame
TedX talk at U.
Louisville co-sponsorship, Feb. 28
Alumni directory campaign
Bullitt
Lecture in Astronomy - put
up posters to advertise the talk,
Oct 2014
Help with
Sister
Cities of
Louisville
gala, Oct
2014
continuing
study to revive the UofL/Mortar Board Planner with
Mortar Board Alumni help
SELECTED 2013-14 projects:
Lecture
on college costs on 29 Jan
2014 by Bob
Martin, Prof. emeritus
from Centre College
Mortar
Board Chapter Endowment Program - with
alumni help - see Dec.
2010 newsletter
Shirley Jones (chair), Nicole
Pappe, Kelsey Vaal, Christine Robbins
Faculty sabbatical housing exchange: Holly
Jones (chair), Nick Allen, Camila
Calderon, Katie Collier
Website development: Lauren Williams
(chair), Chelsea Vaal, Jenna Wargo, Camila
Calderon
Case study to re-start official UL Mortar
Board planner: Ryan Stewart, Gerry
Williger
Bullitt
Lecture in Astronomy - put up posters to advertise
the talk, 21 Nov 2013: Gerry Williger (coordinator)
Fall charity bake sale: Camila Calderon (chair)
Help with Sister
Cities of Louisville gala on 23 Oct 2013: Justin
Tirone (coordinator)
Previous
Mortar Board Members on Homecoming Court/other honors
induction
of 2012-2013 class (to be updated)
induction
of 2011-2012 class (to be updated)
induction
of 2010-2011 class (to be updated)
induction
of
2009-2010
class (partial set of new members)
April 2009
back row, L-R: OJ Oleka, Samantha
Kolasa, Levi Shanks, Russ Tabolt, Gerard Williger (advisor),
Mike Price
front row, L-R: Rachel Noble, Katie Trimble, Nicole Kinney,
Lauren Grau
Not pictured: Kelly Jameson, Deleshia Youngblood
induction
of
2008-2009
class (partial set of new members)
April 2008
back row, L-R: Gerard Williger (advisor),
Michael Oghia, Dave Kitchel,X,Jay Spenlau,Roger Dotsey
front row, L-R: Katharine Sawyer,Wesley Badger, Harini Chenna,
Jon Perry, An Ngyuen, Mike Dennis, Kartik Kamat
not pictured: Susan Higdon, Casey Larue
induction
of
2007-2008
class (partial set of new members)
April 2007
Back Row: (L to R) Andrew Powell, Brian Bennett, Joel
Graham, Ashlee Lonnemann, Andrew Chacko, Gerry Williger
(Assoc. Prof. of Astronomy, advisor)
Front Row: (L to R) Eddie Bobbitt, Huy Le, Casey LaRue,
Cara Uccellini, Reeya Mathew, Patience Ngwang
Photos 2007 April 17:
2006-2007
President
Glypie
Grider reads "The Torch" to 2007-2008 inductees
2006-2007
officers L-R: Sam Allen
(VP-PR), Becky Graham(? VP-Membership), Glypie Grider
(Pres), Megan Bridgewater (Sec'y), Gerry Williger
(advisor)