(left to right)
Dr. James Gettys, Dr. Sandra Chaney, Dr. David Grier
Erskine Phi Alpha Theta Chapter Collects 14th Award
Winning has gotten to be a habit for the Erskine College chapter of the history honor society Phi Alpha Theta (PAT). This year's "Best Chapter" award for Division I makes 14 wins during the last 15 years, according to faculty sponsor Dr. Sandra Chaney.
"The record of our chapter is quite impressive, I suppose, especially considering the small number of members we have each year," said Chaney. She said Erskine's chapter, called the Psi Xi chapter, typically begins the academic year with five members, gaining about five more members in two inductions, one per semester.
"At graduation about half of the organization moves on, leaving new members to run things the next year," Chaney said. She believes the ebb and flow of membership has probably helped the chapter. "It allows the new leadership to determine for themselves what kinds of activities the group wants to take on in the new year."
Chaney said the Psi Xi chapter is careful to undertake only the projects members believe they can complete. Last year their list of accomplishments included two service activities as well as academic achievements.
"Last year they participated in two service projects, the Erskine Staff Organization 'angel tree' at Christmas and Relay for Life in the spring," she said. "And we sent four students to the regional PAT meeting in April, where three of the four presented research papers and two received top honors on their respective panels."
The national office of Phi Alpha Theta emphasizes the importance of faculty involvement, Chaney said, and Erskine's high level of faculty participation may account for some of the chapter's success.
"At Erskine, all department faculty take part in PAT activities as much as possible, from attending monthly meetings to attending regional meetings with other chapters and supporting students' projects," said Chaney, noting that three history faculty members served as judges at the PAT regional meeting this year.
Edith Brawley, Chief Cataloger and Archivist at McCain Library, and Sara Morrison, Interlibrary Loan and Cataloging Librarian, are members of Phi Alpha Theta, Chaney said, adding that Erskine president Dr. John Carson is also a member.
"I attribute a lot of our group's success to its consistently able and active student members, support from all faculty in the department, and the foundation laid by Dr. Nancy Erickson, a longtime history professor here," said Chaney.
"Dr. Erickson established the Phi Alpha Theta chapter at Erskine in 1978 and led it to a high position among chapters across the nation," said Dr. James Gettys, McDonald-Boswell Professor of History at Erskine and former Vice President and Dean of the College. "Since Dr. Erickson left Erskine to accept a position as an academic dean at another institution, Dr. Chaney has served as faculty sponsor, and under her leadership our chapter has retained its position as a national leader."
PAT members at Erskine play an important role in the annual Stukes Lecture. "When Robin Wright of the Los Angeles Times came to our campus as Stukes Lecturer last year, they helped with the program and advertising and participated in the luncheon," Chaney said. "They also handled the sale of Ms. Wright's books. They will be doing similar things this year for the Stukes Lecture in November."
Incoming chapter president Amanda Sweeney anticipates another good year for the history honor society. "Phi Alpha Theta is a great opportunity to bring ideas and investigations in history to the attention of interested students," she said. "I'm looking forward to planning activities that can involve more students and help show them the many cool aspects of history — more than just what a textbook shows."
To be eligible for membership in the Erskine chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, students must have taken twelve hours of history, with at least two of these classes being graded classes at Erskine. Students must also maintain better than a 3.0 grade point average in their history classes, at least a 3.0 in their non-history classes and be in the top third of their class.
Last year's chapter included officers Jenny White, president, David Rabe, vice president, Blaire Oakley, secretary, Cynthia Welborn, treasurer, and Heather Greer, historian, as well as Rob Brown, Justin Coates, Sara King, Josh Ness, Sweeney, and Melissa Threadgill.
This year's officers, in addition to Sweeney, are vice president Josh Ness, secretary-treasurer Sara King, and historian Rob Brown.
