Tau Beta Pi
The Engineering Honor Society
How Do I Promote My Chapter?
First, consider what image you want to promote. This is truly a representation of what your chapter's core focus areas are. Common examples for TBP chapters include images of professionalism, community service, social events, and professional/personal development. This should be a discussion with your officers and advisor before it is communicated to your chapter.
Second, ask what activities can promote the image(s). Here are some examples for each of the images given above:
- Professionalism/achievement - Fancy Fridays, presentations to freshmen
- Community service - Campus/highway cleanups, service events open to all engineering students
- Social events - socials on campus, Engineering BBQ, engineering organization competitions (example: cardboard boat race), Pi Day events
- Professional/personal development - speaker events, workshops, panels, recruiting events, etiquette dinners
No matter what option you pick, successful execution matters! If students see you do an event clumsily, without fully planning it through, they will be turned off from your chapter! Always be prepared, look prepared!
"Easy" Image Boosters
In most cases, we're just looking for some small easy things we can do to get people to know the name "Tau Beta Pi" and know that we aren't some fraternity. Here are some easy-to-run, low cost examples of image boosters:.
- The Tau Beta Pi store offers free posters! Post them all over campus!
- You can use these downloadable logos and other graphics.
- Whatever your chapter does, always take photos and post them on social media. Candidates look at these when they get the eligibility letter!
- Give out free coffee/donuts/pie on campus near the engineering building(s). Partner with alumni chapters for funding
- Attend club fairs, orientations, freshmen classes, and other tabling opportunities.
- Hold events (professional, social, or community service events) that are open to all engineering students, invite everyone! For example:
- If you have a guest speaker on an interesting topic, open it to all students, put up posters for it, and ask the engineering departments to send out an invite to their students.
- Host a new Engineering Futures session that can be open to all or partnered with another organization.
- If possible, hold chapter events in locations and at times that ensure other students will see what you're up to.
- Take good care of your Bent monument on campus. Hold a polishing event during school hours and you'll likely get several students' attention and interest.
- Initiate Eminent Engineers! Initiating Deans, department chairs, and popular professors can help build credibility for your chapter.
- Whenever you hold an initiation ceremony, ask the school to publish an article about it and invite your local alumni chapters if you can.
- Give extra emphasis to any member that earns a scholarship or other award from TBP.