The Psi Chi and Psychology Club received its second award as a model chapter from the International Psi Chi Honor Society. The psychology club was given a certificate to represent the honor.
“Basically, it’s showing that we’re a good chapter doing a lot of good work,” Todd Manson, assistant professor of psychology and faculty co-adviser for Psi Chi, said.
Manson said the club was awarded the honor for several reasons, including hosting campus events, inducting a record number of new members in the previous two years and having students present research at regional conferences.
Meghan Kahn, assistant professor of psychology and faculty co-adviser for Psi Chi said hosting campus events and attending regional conferences have garnered positive attention for the chapter.
“We’ve had our members pretty active on campus and other areas, as well,” Kahn said.
Kahn said the mandate of the International Psi Chi Honor Society is to spread awareness about the field of psychology.
“Most of the events [on campus] are intended to educate people about the field of psychology,” Kahn said.
Kahn said the events typically involve guest lecturers on varying topics concerning the field of psychology.
“We ask faculty to come talk about their research, and we have alumni come back and talk about what they are doing with their degree in psychology,” Kahn said.
Each member of Psi Chi must be invited for induction into the honor society by their campus chapter. Kahn said to be considered for invitation and induction students must be at least a sophomore and have a GPA in the 10th percentile, which is measured against other psychology majors on campus.
“Students typically must have a 3.1 GPA to be invited to join Psi Chi,” Kahn said.
Kahn said membership in the honor society is prestigious among professionals in the field of psychology.
“Psi Chi is the predominant honor society in the field of psychology,” Kahn said. “It’s a pretty big deal for people to be a member. Once you become a member, you are a member for life.”
Manson was also inducted into Psi Chi during his college career, and Kahn served as the secretary for Psi Chi at her institution in New York while she was a student.
“Most of our psychology faculty are members of Psi Chi,” Kahn said. “They had been inducted when they were students.”
Kahn said the chapter has been on campus for a long time in relation to other campus groups.
“The IU Southeast chapter was founded by Bernardo Carducci about 20 years ago,” Kahn said.
Dianne Wille, professor of psychology, accepted the advisory position for the club about 10 years ago.
Wille said she is proud of the group’s effort and the co-adviser’s leadership.
“I knew when Dr. Manson and Dr. Kahn took over they were going to do great things with it,” Wille said. “They’ve been able to do things we thought about doing, but never got a chance to do.”
Wille said a part of the honor is international recognition for accomplishments through self-promotion.
“They’ve certainly done well at promoting the organization,” Wille said. “They’ve even had articles published in the Psi Chi magazine.”
Manson said the group has brought awareness to its accomplishments and efforts and hopes to see the same level of excellence in the future.
“Last year, the psychology club received the Campus Student Organization of the Year award,” Manson said. “We’ve been pretty successful the past few years, and we hope to keep it going.”
By SAM WEBER
Staff
samweber@ius.edu
