The UCA Chapter of Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology, is the 2012-2013 winner of the Ruth Hubbard Cousins Chapter Award. The award will be presented at the Psi Chi/American Psychological Association National Convention in Honolulu, Hawaii in August.
This award is given annually to the one chapter that best accomplishes Psi Chi’s mission. The award recognizes the Chapter’s accomplishments over the past 5 years which include: 5 consecutive Model Chapter Awards, a Regional Chapter award, a Regional Advisor Award, and over $30,000 in grants, fellowships, and awards to undergraduate and graduate members. The chapter will be awarded $3,500 and a plaque with the chapter’s name, advisor’s name, and chapter president’s name as well as travel expenses for one chapter officer to attend the convention to receive the award.
“We are extremely proud of the hard work and dedication from our faculty advisors and student leaders. We are honored to be the recipient of the 2012-13 Ruth Hubbard Cousins Chapter Award,” said Laura B. Horton, UCA Psi Chi chapter president. “Over the years, our chapter has experienced a steady increase in membership, and our faculty and students have received numerous national grants and awards.”
The UCA Psi Chi Chapter was notified in March about the award. The email from the Psi Chi central office in Chattanooga, Tenn., read, “The Psi Chi Board of Directors takes pleasure in informing you and the University of Central Arkansas Psi Chi Chapter that it is the winner of the 2012-13 Ruth Hubbard Cousins Chapter Award. We congratulate you on the outstanding accomplishments which brought this honor to your Psi Chi Chapter. You will stand as a role model to which our other chapters can aspire.”
The UCA Psi Chi chapter was founded in 1970 and has inducted 773 members. Minimum qualifications for membership include completion of at least three psychology courses and a cumulative and psychology GPA of at least 3.00 and a GPA in the top 35 percent of the candidate’s class.
“This award is a well-deserved acknowledgment of the hard work and dedication of UCA Psi Chi members. I especially thank Psi Chi Advisor, Dr. Charlton, President Laura Horton, and Vice-President Paula Simon, for making Psi Chi such a strong organization,” said J. Arthur Gillaspy, chairperson of the Department of Psychology and Counseling.
For more information about membership or the UCA Psi Chi chapter, contact Shawn Charlton, associate professor of psychology and chapter advisor, at 501-450-5415 or scharlton@uca.edu.
Psi Chi, The International Honor Society in Psychology, was founded on September 4, 1929, during the Ninth International Congress of Psychology held at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The Society’s purpose is to encourage, stimulate, and maintain excellence in scholarship, and to advance the science of psychology. Psi Chi is one of the largest honor societies in the world. Since 1929, Psi Chi has installed more than 1,090 chapters and inducted more than 500,000 members at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. These chapters not only recognize academic achievement by granting membership in the Society, but also sponsor programs that augment the regular curriculum, offer service to the campus and the community at large, develop leadership skills, and provide fellowship through affiliation with the chapter. For more information about Psi Chi and its grants, awards, and service programs, go to the Psi Chi website at www.psichi.org. Psi Chi is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies and an affiliate of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science.
