Lyon’s Alpha Chi chapter selected as the outstanding chapter in the nation

March 26, 2007

Lyon College's Alpha Chi chapter recently received the National College Honor Scholarship Society’s highest honor – the President's Cup, marking it as the outstanding chapter in the nation for 2005-2007.

Six members of Lyon's  Alpha Chi chapter attended the national convention in San Antonio, Texas, March 15 – 17, and they brought home that distinction and another prestigious honor.

At the convention, Lyon students Haley Skinner, Laura McWilliams and Ashley Dorsey learned that Alpha Chi has for the seventh consecutive year named Lyon’s chapter one of its 2006 Star Chapters, a distinction achieved by only about 10 percent of the more than 300 chapters across the country.

But the President's Cup was the biggest prize. President’s Cup winners retain the trophy and title for two years. The large traveling cup (right) is now on display in Lyon’s Derby Center for Science and Mathematics. At the next national convention in 2009, Lyon will pass the cup to the next recipient and replace it with a smaller cup that will remain on campus permanently.

Selection of the outstanding chapter is based upon convention attendance, sponsorship of local scholarly presentations, scholarship and award recipients, and service. During the past two years, 11 students have attended Alpha Chi conventions giving nine scholarly presentations. Also during this time, three students have been awarded scholarships and fellowships, with another selected as first alternate in a scholarship competition.

Locally, Lyon’s Alpha Chi chapter has sponsored 35 scholarly presentations during the last two years.

All three students attending made scholarly presentations at the convention. Skinner, Lyon’s chapter president and student delegate to the convention, discussed her research in a presentation entitled "Problems and Pitfalls: Lessons Learned from Psychological Experimentation."

McWilliams presented her research on "Arsenic Remediation in Groundwater Systems" and was awarded runner-up in the Joseph E. Pryor Fellowship Competition.

Ashley Dorsey of Searcy presented her paper, "The Tragedy of Selfishness: Criticism of Capitalism in William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice," and was awarded the Michael Flachmann Prize in Shakespeare for her presentation. For her paper and presentation, Dorsey was also awarded the Edwin W. Gaston Scholarship.

Lyon’s three chapter sponsors, Dr. Gloria Everson, Dr. Terrell Tebbetts and Dr. Tim Lindblom, also attended the event. Tebbetts, a member of the Alpha Chi National Council, was awarded a Distinguished Service Award for his 34 years with Lyon’s chapter of Alpha Chi.

During free time at the convention, students and faculty visited various sites around the city, including a bird watching trip to Friedrich Wilderness Park and dining and shopping along San Antonio’s famous River Walk.

According to the group’s Web site, Alpha Chi is a general honor society that admits students from all academic disciplines. Membership is limited to the top 10 percent of an institution's juniors and seniors. Invitation to membership comes only through an institutional chapter. A college seeking a chapter must grant baccalaureate degrees and be regionally accredited. About 300 chapters in almost every state induct more than 11,000 members each year.