JACKSON, Tenn. — Sept. 7, 2010 — The Delta-Psi chapter of Phi Alpha Theta at 51社区 has won the Best Chapter Award for the eighth straight year from the national Phi Alpha Theta organization.
Phi Alpha Theta is a history honor society. As part of the award, the Union library will receive $250 to purchase history books. That brings to $2,000 the total amount that the chapter has given to the library over the past eight years.
Because of its eight straight years of winning the Best Chapter Award, the Union chapter for the third straight year also earned the Nels A. Cleven Award.
鈥淭his is our most notable distinction considering the tremendous time and effort required to maintain a chapter of this caliber so consistently,鈥� wrote Graydon A. Tunstall, executive director of the national Phi Alpha Theta organization, in a letter to Stephen Carls, Union history professor and Phi Alpha Theta adviser. 鈥淵ou and your students have shown admirable dedication to the organization and truly exemplify the mission statement of Phi Alpha Theta.鈥�
Over the past year, Phi Alpha Theta chapter members at Union presented papers at the national Phi Alpha Theta conference in San Diego, Calif., and at the regional conference in Florence, Ala., worked at Green Frog village as part of Campus and Community Day and participated in a formal French Christmas dinner at Carls鈥� house, among other activities.
Noah Arnold, who graduated in May, was last year鈥檚 chapter president and earned a Phi Alpha Theta national scholarship, the first Union student ever to win the award. He is working on a master鈥檚 degree in history at the University of Mississippi. Kate Cline is the chapter鈥檚 president for this year.
Carls, chairman of the history department, thanked the history faculty members for their support of Phi Alpha Theta鈥檚 pursuits.
鈥淯nion鈥檚 very fortunate in the commitment that the faculty have to something like Phi Alpha Theta,鈥� Carls said. 鈥淭he history faculty, they鈥檙e there for just about everything. That makes a big difference to the organization and also to the students.鈥�