In 1964, the National Association of College and University Residence Halls, Inc. (NACURH) found itself with financial difficulties. Jim Tschechtelin, NACURH Chair, began investigating possibilities for potential revenue sources and grants. Grants were found, but there were two requirements: a central NACURH office had to be established, and the member schools needed more service rendered. Thus, the National Honorary was put forth as an answer to the second requirement.

During the preliminary organization, the National Honorary (NH) focused on the incorporation of old into new. Campuses with existing honorary organizations were contacted and coordinated into the NH structure. The preservation of a chapter's identity was primary, as it was incorporated into the NH structure, and as each campus is aware of its own individual needs. The primary focus of each chapter became the recognition of the Residence Hall Leaders on its campus. This helped sustain a consistent membership in on campus organizations as well as on the regional and national levels within NACURH.

The years between 1977 to 1987 were the years of growth for the National Honorary. Pins and certificates were produced to recognize the members of the honorary, the tradition of regional and national receptions during the conferences began, and formal recruitment and affiliation packets were produced. Regional Recruiter (now Associate Directors) positions on regional boards were also established. Many awards were established including the Of The Months, Outstanding Chapter of the Year, Building Block Chapter of the Year, and Member of the Year.

Today, over 210 chapters are affiliated with the National Residence Hall Honorary National Office. Activities of the chapters vary from campus to campus. Some simply induct new members at an annual recognition banquet, and thus are only an honorary chapter. Others are extremely active on their campuses and in their communities.

Membership selection can be done once a semester. NRHH looks for the "Top 1% of the student leaders on campus". Those students are those who have contributed extraordinary amounts of personal time and energy in order to make the residence halls "more than a dorm" and on campus living as great as it can possibly be.

In 2004 at the NACURH annual conference at St. Louis University in downtown St. Louis, NRHH celebrated it's 40th anniversary as an organization.

MACURH NRHH was formed from the 1964 decision of NACURH. Today in MACURH, 36 chapters are affiliated on the regional level and represent the region on the national level by attending conferences and other events.

At the MACURH 1997 conference, John Hey was the first MACURH RAD to be elected by the NRHH Representatives.  All previous RADs had been selected by the MACURH NCCs.  Also at the MACURH 97' conference, the Building Block Chapter of the Year and the Hudson/Averill Outstanding Member of the Year were first awarded.

At the NACURH 2006 conference at the University of California Berkeley, the NRHH National Office was changed to the NACURH Services and Recognition Office (NSRO).  The NSRO continues to service NRHH Chapters across the country, but now also provides services to all NACURH member schools regardless of if they have an existing NRHH Chapter or not.  The University of Washing is the first host of he NSRO.

The official logo of MACURH is "Molly the Moo Cow". In addition, the official logo of NRHH in MACURH (as adopted in 2004) is a cow with the NRHH diamond embossed on the center of the cow's body. The logo has been created as a lapel pin and is available for purchase by every NRHH member and chapter in the Midwest region.

Listed below is a list of all previous NRHH Regional Recruiters now called Associate Directors of NRHH. By each person's name is the year they held the position and their home school. By no means is the list complete so if there is an addition and/or correction, please email the current Regional Associate Director so it can be updated.

 

Below is a list of the year’s NRHH has been an organization and the locations of the NRHH National Office, the director, and the number of schools affiliated with NRHH in that year.