Order of The Golden Fleece: Behind the secrecy, unity and nomination process

The 2025 nomination window for the Order of The Golden Fleece, UNC’s oldest honor society, is open until Feb. 24. The group’s private operations create an air of mystique, but some members say it is to maintain campus unity, the Order’s founding purpose.

This year’s nominations are accepted through a Google Form and will be reviewed by the active Order in a confidential process. Chris Faison, the Order’s advisor, said the announcement of new members will come out sometime this semester. 

The active Order is currently comprised of seven to eight undergraduate seniors, President Morgan Jordan said. She said the new spring class will be made up of juniors, seniors, graduate and professional students, faculty, staff and alumni.

Any non-undergraduate members are honorary members like Faison. He said these include graduate students, faculty, staff and alumni, all of whom make up a large network that interacts with the Order often, Jordan said. 

Those tapped by the Order are also among the namesakes of most campus buildings. UNC’s first chancellor, Robert B. House, and former UNC President Frank Porter Graham are notable past members. The surnames Fetzer, Joyner, Eringhaus, Carmichael and Gardner may also sound familiar.

History of the Order

Founded in 1904, the Order is said to consist of campus leaders and changemakers, with the purpose of fostering connections among different University groups.

“There was division of thought and spirit on the University campus,” according to a passage from "History of the Golden Fleece," 1903-1950, a book in the Wilson Special Collections Library.

Administration and graduate school leaders felt the need for a “unifying force which could cut across sectional boundaries and honor excellence in men wherever such a quality might show itself,” the book states.

Former UNC Dean Eben Alexander was a member of Skull and Bones, a similar society at Yale University, and wanted to implement such a group at UNC. After consulting Professor Horace Williams and Edward Kidder Graham, the organization took form. 

Alexander was a professor of Greek language and literature at UNC and named the Order after the myth of Jason and the Golden Fleece. 

The Greek myth describes the hero, Jason, retrieving the fleece from a faraway land in order to reclaim his throne. On this quest, Jason sailed a ship called the Argo while leading a band of warriors, the Argonauts.

Members of the Order are deemed “Argonauts,” and their president is called the “Jason.” 

Secrecy in the name of unity

Nick Herman, author of "The Order of the Golden Fleece at Chapel Hill," 1904-2004, was tapped in 1977. He said a committee within the Order asked him to create another written history of the group for its centennial in 2004. 

In an interview with The Daily Tar Heel, Herman said the group has always been a place where campus leaders come together and discuss solutions to issues the University is facing. 

He said examples of frequent members include the chancellor, student body president, editor-in-chief of The DTH and distinguished scholars and athletes.

As the current Jason, Jordan said she leads weekly meetings where the active Order still discusses campus matters, as Herman said.

“One of our main things is to be a voice of change on campus,” she said.

Herman said that after discussions, Order members quietly influence their respective campus spheres with their agreed-upon goals in mind.

He said the Order maintains harmony on campus by not taking public stances and therefore avoids contributing to any division.

“The secrecy was, the Golden Fleece didn't want to become a group itself, as if it was some advocacy group, because then people just start yelling at the Golden Fleece,” Herman said.

Jordan said the secrecy doesn't mean isolating the Order from campus but to create a tight-knit bond between members.

The Order’s tapping ceremonies are more public and allow guests, 2024 Argonaut Katie Noble said. She said her parents, boyfriend and two close friends were present when she was tapped.

Noble said the induction ceremony, when one becomes an official member, is private. 

She said she knew of the Order through her older brother, who was tapped in 2020, but that her tapping was a surprise to her. Noble said she doesn’t know if her brother had a role in her selection because the process is kept secret.

“I was like, ‘This is really neat,’ but once again, not on my radar,” she said. "Then literally, all of a sudden I was being tapped. And it was a complete orchestrated mastermind of a process.”

Unity by diversity and inclusion

The Order’s current Heel Life page says, “Individuals are eligible for induction regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, ability, religion, or any other identity.”

In 1962, Julius Levonne Chambers was the first Black Argonaut welcomed to the Order. The first four female Argonauts, Deborah Ann Potter, Mary Norris Preyer, Katherine Carlton McAdams and Ann E. Queen, joined 10 years later in 1972.

Faison said that while the Order was not diverse in 1904 the way it is now, the group’s value of inclusivity has been there since the beginning. 

The Order’s founding members wanted to bring together students who represented eight branches of campus life: writing, debating, scholarship, publications, athletics, religious life, social life and professional and graduate student life. Including these branches was diverse for the time, Faison said.

“I really appreciate that we've been able to continue that, even with changing demographics,” he said.

Noble said that as a Hispanic woman, representation means a lot to her. She said it feels good that the Order recognizes women and minorities for their leadership and that the society couldn’t be the best without doing so.

Thomas Wolfe, acclaimed novelist and former editor-in-chief of The DTH, wrote in a 1920 editorial: “Never before has the fine purpose of the Golden Fleece, which has been a great builder of our campus life, been more definite in the minds of the student body than at present.”

Herman said the same sentiment is relevant today.

CLARIFICATION: Based on information provided to The DTH, this article previous listed the new spring class as consisting of only juniors.

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