Tau Beta Pi

The Engineering Honor Society

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Tau Beta Pi December 2025 Officer eNotes

These eNotes contain important and up-to-date information and links to help you and your chapter as the academic year is underway. A summary is at the top of the page with links to more detailed information and references. If you have questions about the information provided, contact Headquarters at 865-546-4578 or by email.

TIP OF THE MONTH

Be sure to receive approval for your initiation! Contact Kelly Caro if you have not received approval at least two days in advance.

CHAPTER OPERATIONS

ASSOCIATION NEWS

  • 2025 Convention images are available!
  • Encourage members to apply for a Fellowship by February 1, 2026.
  • Submit award nominations (Distinguished Alumni, Laureate, TBP-McDonald Mentor, Outstanding Advisor).
  • Participate in NEST (New Engineering Solutions for Tomorrow)!

Membership Process, Initiations, and Virtual Resources

Chapters must use the interactive, electronic reporting system on the web for all undergraduate membership reports. Your chapter has only one user name and password; if you do not have or remember your login or password, please contact HQ at tbp.chapters@tbp.org to have your credentials reset. Details on how to submit the membership and chapter reports are available here online. You are strongly encouraged to review the model Membership Process Schedule when planning your chapter's activities.

  • Send professional membership invitation or email; sample electee invitations are here and sample electee materials are here.
  • Work with the dean's office to send a letter to candidates and their parents; sample student letter and sample parent's letter.
  • Discuss TBP member benefits during meetings with eligible candidates; a list of benefits is here.

Your Report of Eligibility is due at HQ within the first five weeks after the start of your school term. Bylaw III requires that a fine be levied if the report is not received. Your chapter may submit its Report of Eligibility using an Excel spreadsheet. Instructions are available here.

Your report must list the entire top-fifth of the senior class and the entire top-eighth of the junior class, (including those who are already members) even if some names are below a GPA cutoff set by your chapter. If your chapter has one, indicate the GPA minimum on the Report of Eligibility. Round any fraction up to the next whole number. For example, 1/8 of 100 is 12.5, so you would list the top 13 students. Also, if a tie exists you must list all students with the same GPA in the last position. It's okay to exceed the total number of eligible students in this case.

After contacting your eligible candidates, the chapter members must vote on those candidates and submit to HQ as the Report of Election. This report must be submitted with each electee's online catalog card (which should be completed by the electee) and APPROVAL RECEIVED BEFORE you hold your initiation. Contact Kelly Caro if you have not received approval at least two days in advance. DO NOT HOLD AN UNAPPROVED INITIATION as your chapter could be fined and placed on probation. Online catalog cards must be completed before membership items can be ordered. If you want keys and certificates for initiation, plan to submit at least three weeks before initiation.

Report of Final Action, Roll Book Signatures & Initiation Fees

Within two weeks after your approved initiation, submit the Report of Final Action indicating who was initiated. Please make sure initiates print their name next to their signature and then upload your roll book signatures as a PDF along with the Final Action. Initiation fees are due two weeks after your initiation ceremony is held. Each candidate marked as initiated on your Final Action must have a signature or signature form attached to the roll book. New members will not be added to the system until the Report of Final Action is processed.

Order Chapter Image Materials for the semester!

Headquarters provides chapter supplies, including: two poster options, information and decision brochures and a brochure holder, invitation to orientation sessions, and invitation to membership cards, envelope, and reply cards. Samples of these and more will be available at the 2025 Convention. Many supplies are available for order from the TBP Store.

Host an Engineering Futures Session on Your Campus

Engineering Futures (EF) is TBP's award-winning professional development program. The EF web page allows members to learn more about the program, view the upcoming online sessions, submit their interest in becoming a facilitator, and allows chapters to request an in-person session!

Request a Campus EF Session: TBP chapters may submit requests to host an in-person EF session for your own members and/or as a service or outreach activity for your campus or community. Go here to learn more and to request a session.

Important: The sessions are open to the public, so they are not limited to TBP members only. You also must have 15 people pre-registered two weeks before the requested session is scheduled. Contact Kelly Caro if you have questions about scheduling an EF session.

Involve Your Advisors

Each chapter should have at least four advisors. If not, you should locate additional advisors to add to your corps, perhaps in a discipline not currently represented on the advisory corps, someone local in industry, or an alumnus of the chapter. They must be a member of Tau Beta Pi. If you need help determining if faculty members are Tau Bates, email your list to Kelly Caro. Invite all advisors to chapter meetings, activities, and initiations. Include them on the membership email distribution list, if they are not already on it. Request they display a TBP Poster outside their office. Ask them to talk to potential candidates and promote TBP in their classes.

Keys, Certificates & Membership Cards

Does your chapter have a backlog of membership certificates, cards, and keys? Tau Beta Pi is encouraging all chapters to review any backlog and develop plans to distribute membership items to alumni members. Officers have the ability in the reporting system to utilize the Member Lookup function to identify alumni members.

Have an extensive list of items that need to be distributed but don't know how to start? Send Kelly Caro an email with the names of the members and Headquarters will provide you with a listing of email addresses, mailing addresses, etc. If you are able to retrieve new contact information for your alumni members, please provide any new information or encourage them to update their information with Headquarters. Any new member contact information can be sent to tbp.memberupdate@tbp.org.

2026 District Conference Dates

District Conferences are typically scheduled from February to April. These conferences include members from all of the chapters in your District and are an invaluable training tool for new officers and members. The primary goal is to aid in chapter officer transition and onboarding to help maintain continuity for chapter leadership. They also provide a great opportunity to network and have fun! Conferences are coordinated by your District Directors who are a vital resource for your chapter. Your Directors' contact information is available online here. The 2026 District Conference schedule is here.

See the 2025 Convention pictures!

Share Convention photos with your chapter members, post the images on your website or social media, or simply scroll through the memories! All photo albums are live on our Convention landing page, including:

Fellowships

Inform your members of the Fellowship Program! Any current undergraduate member or electee is eligible to apply for a fellowship as long as they are an initiated member on the date the fellowship is awarded. Applications will become available online December 15, 2025. Fellowship applications are due by February 1, 2026; the stipend is $10,000 for a year of graduate study. Additional information is here.

Award Nominations

Award Nominations For information on the following awards, go here.

Due April 1 - - The Distinguished Alumnus Award recognizes alumni who have continued to live up to the ideals of TBP as stated in our Eligibility Code and to foster a spirit of liberal culture throughout their lives after college years. Any chapter or member may nominate one (or more) alumni member(s).

Due April 1 - The Laureate Program recognizes members who excel in areas outside of engineering (arts, athletics, service, and diverse achievements).

Due April 1 - The TBP-McDonald Mentor Award celebrates excellence among TBP educators and engineers who have consistently supported the personal and professional development of their students and colleagues as excellent mentors or advisors.

Due April 1 - The Association's Outstanding Advisor Award recognizes outstanding performance among the Chapter Advisors of Tau Beta Pi.

New Engineering Solutions for Tomorrow (NEST)

Through NEST, a competition is hosted annually in which students submit solutions related to a general topic chosen by the Convention body. The students are encouraged to work in teams and present their solutions to the Convention in order to convince alumni and industry sponsors that their ideas are worth investing in to solve the NEST challenge. A panel of alumni selects the most innovative and practical solutions to be awarded an investment. The selected challenge topic for 2026 is "Mitigating the Impact of Natural Disasters." For more information visit their website or contact tbp.nest@tbp.org.