Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
This ceremony presents an opportunity for us to take a Pledge and to recall that the professional purpose of engineering involves the pursuit of a learned art in the spirit of public service. By following the acceptance of the Obligation, the individual engineer reinforces similar efforts of his or her peers, realizing that in unity there is strength.
In the early 20th century, engineers in Canada had similar sentiments. They believed that a need existed to foster camaraderie among engineers. In 1925, the "Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer" began in Canada. The words of the Canadian Ritual were written by the English author, Rudyard Kipling, who saw engineers as the builders of things that were intended to benefit mankind.
The Canadian ceremony includes the placing of a wrought iron ring on the small finger of the individual’s working hand and repeating the Oath. It is difficult to visualize any better symbolism than that of a ring, worn for all to see, and saying in effect, here is an engineer, dedicated to a publicly avowed obligation to the profession and to those it has served.
In 1966, a group of engineers in Ohio, with members of several engineering organizations, began to pursue a separate organization and distinct ceremony with similar intentions to elevate the profession and serve the public. The objective of what came to be called the "Order of the Engineer." While the deliberations of this group were in progress, seniors of Fenn College of Engineering of Cleveland State University, counseled by Dean Burl Bush, designed and held a ring ceremony and reception on June 4, 1970. Each participant signed a Creed and received a plain stainless-steel ring placed on the small finger of his or her working hand. One hundred seventy engineering seniors and engineering faculty members took part in this first ceremony. Since then, the movement has spread rapidly throughout the United States.
Such is the story of an increasing acceptance of the "Order of the Engineer," as it is known in the United States today. The stainless-steel ring symbolizes the strength and unity of the profession and provides an identifying mark of an engineer.
Tau Beta Pi Association
The Tau Beta Pi Association was founded at Lehigh University in 1885 by Edward Higginson Williams Jr., to mark in a fitting manner those who have conferred honor upon their Alma Mater
by distinguished scholarship and exemplary character as students in engineering, or by their attainments as alumni in the field of engineering, and to foster a spirit of liberal culture in engineering colleges. Each year, the MSE Library honors the inductees of Tau Beta Pi, the national engineering honor society, by producing a plaque with the full membership listed. This plaque is typically
placed alongside the Phi Beta Kappa honor society plaque in the library. We are pleased to present this plaque today to honor our students who have earned this impressive distinction.
This ceremony presents an opportunity for us to take a Pledge and to recall that the professional purpose of engineering involves the pursuit of a learned art in the spirit of public service. By following the acceptance of the Obligation, the individual engineer reinforces similar efforts of his or her peers, realizing that in unity there is strength.
In the early 20th century, engineers in Canada had similar sentiments. They believed that a need existed to foster camaraderie among engineers. In 1925, the "Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer" began in Canada. The words of the Canadian Ritual were written by the English author, Rudyard Kipling, who saw engineers as the builders of things that were intended to benefit mankind.
The Canadian ceremony includes the placing of a wrought iron ring on the small finger of the individual’s working hand and repeating the Oath. It is difficult to visualize any better symbolism than that of a ring, worn for all to see, and saying in effect, here is an engineer, dedicated to a publicly avowed obligation to the profession and to those it has served.
In 1966, a group of engineers in Ohio, with members of several engineering organizations, began to pursue a separate organization and distinct ceremony with similar intentions to elevate the profession and serve the public. The objective of what came to be called the "Order of the Engineer." While the deliberations of this group were in progress, seniors of Fenn College of Engineering of Cleveland State University, counseled by Dean Burl Bush, designed and held a ring ceremony and reception on June 4, 1970. Each participant signed a Creed and received a plain stainless-steel ring placed on the small finger of his or her working hand. One hundred seventy engineering seniors and engineering faculty members took part in this first ceremony. Since then, the movement has spread rapidly throughout the United States.
Such is the story of an increasing acceptance of the "Order of the Engineer," as it is known in the United States today. The stainless-steel ring symbolizes the strength and unity of the profession and provides an identifying mark of an engineer.
Tau Beta Pi Association
The Tau Beta Pi Association was founded at Lehigh University in 1885 by Edward Higginson Williams Jr., to mark in a fitting manner those who have conferred honor upon their Alma Mater
by distinguished scholarship and exemplary character as students in engineering, or by their attainments as alumni in the field of engineering, and to foster a spirit of liberal culture in engineering colleges. Each year, the MSE Library honors the inductees of Tau Beta Pi, the national engineering honor society, by producing a plaque with the full membership listed. This plaque is typically
placed alongside the Phi Beta Kappa honor society plaque in the library. We are pleased to present this plaque today to honor our students who have earned this impressive distinction.
