By Kristie Schiefer
News Assignment Editor
The history department initiated six new student members into its national honor society, Phi Alpha Theta, on Thursday during a ceremony in University Ministries.
Inductees included seniors Jason P. Mahar and Maria C. Swieciki, junior Samuel R. Moore and sophomores Shannon K. Conheady, Harrison J. Leone and Alexandra E. McCumiskey.
To be eligible for nomination, undergraduate students must complete a minimum of 12 semester hours (four courses) in history and achieve a minimum GPA of 3.1 in history and a GPA of 3.0 or better overall, according to Maddalena Marinari, assistant professor.
The ceremony was conducted by Marinari and Karen Robbins, assistant professor, the Phi Alpha Theta advisers on campus.
“SBU has had a Phi Alpha Theta graduate and undergraduate chapter since 2007,” Marinari said. “Excluding the six students being inducted this year, the department has inducted 31 Phi Alpha Theta members since 2007.”
Phi Alpha Theta (ΦΑΘ) is an American honor society for undergraduate and graduate students and professors of history. The society has more than 350,000 members, with about 9,500 new members joining each year through 860 local chapters. Established on March 17, 1921 at the University of Arkansas by Professor Nels Cleven, Cleven was convinced in his time that a fraternity of scholars was important for the study of history, according to http://phialphatheta.org.
