Pi Gamma Mu initiates first members at WSU

A first in social sciences is happening at Wichita State today.

The first charter members of the Pi Gamma Mu honor society in social sciences will be initiated at WSU. Initiates will be presented with a membership pin and certificate at the 3 p.m. public event held in the Hughes Metropolitan Complex, room 138. Attendees might notice President John Bardo at the event; he is also a member of Pi Gamma Mu.

Political science professor Carolyn Shaw and social work professor Sheryl Chapman organized the society.

“We wanted to establish a cross-disciplinary honors society that brings top students together from different majors,” Shaw said.

Disciplines that are part of the society include political science, psychology, sociology, economics, anthropology and many more.

Shaw and Chapman identified students who met the membership criteria and invited them to join the organization before a local chapter could be established. Once officers are elected, Shaw and Chapman can move into their role as advisers.

“We will provide support to the group as needed to carry out the projects and events members choose to pursue,” Shaw said.

Pi Gamma Mu helps foster cross-disciplinary academic success and service. Shaw described Pi Gamma Mu as “a service organization that recognizes scholarship in the social sciences and provides service to the campus and community.”

Shaw and Chapman began this process to establish a cross-disciplinary honors society that brings top students together from different majors. While many departments and majors have discipline-specific honor societies, Shaw doesn’t see any other cross-disciplinary societies on campus.

Students interested in joining Pi Gamma Mu should contact Shaw or Chapman. A second initiation ceremony is scheduled for next spring. To be a member, students must be juniors, seniors, or graduate students and have completed 20 hours of social science classes, as well as maintaining a 3.0 overall GPA.

Shaw said Pi Gamma Mu was founded in 1924 at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kan. More than 150 chapters operate across the United States and around the world.