Organized in 1950, the University of North Texas chapter of Mortar Board began as Meritum, a Latin word meaning “to deserve or earn.” Compromised of 13 members, it was a club that stressed scholarship, leadership, and service. Membership was limited to women from a female population of about 2000. On April 20, 1968, Meritum was installed as the North Texas chapter of Mortar Board; former members of Meritum were offered the opportunity to be inducted as Mortar Board members, and many took advantage of this offer. Today, membership is limited to 40 students, without regard to gender, from a total student population of over 27,000.

One of the main service projects for the chapter over the years has been Honors Day. In the 1950’s, Meritum chose to sponsor a university-wide Honors Day due to the increase in the number of awards presented at graduation ceremonies. In 1971, the Blue Key Honor Society added a banquet for honorees to accompany the convocation, which continued to be the province of Mortar Board. Responsibility for all the activities of the day was assumed by the University on 1972 via proclamation of the University president and the president of the student body. The Mortar Board president, vice president, and the senior advisor continue to serve on the University Honors Committee. Members serve on numerous subcommittees.

Another of the most longstanding service projects of the chapter is the selection of the Top Profs to recognize faculty members who have been particularly influential in the academic life of Mortar Board members. Mortar Board Week is yet another tradition. Its many service projects over the years have included voter registration drives; providing tutoring services to lower division students; planting a cyprus tree by Marquis bench outside Marquis Hall as part of the “Plant a Living Legacy” program during campus celebration of the 1976 bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution; and the Centennial Clock in the Union that commemorated the 1990 University Centennial. The chapter received the University Special Recognition Award in 1984 and the President’s Award in 1992 in acknowledgment of its many years of service to North Texas.