Nineteen Tusculum College students received one of the highest honors bestowed by the school with their induction into the Alpha Chi National Honor Society.
To be eligible for membership in Tusculum’s Alpha Chi Chapter, students must be either juniors or seniors who rank in the top 10 percent of their classes academically. Members are admitted to the honor society from all academic disciplines. The invitation to join the honor society, extended by the college’s faculty, recognizes previous accomplishments and provides opportunity for continued growth and service.
The students were inducted into Tusculum’s chapter of Alpha Chi in a ceremony before family and friends in the Chalmers Conference Center on campus.
Theodore Oing of Hixson, a senior majoring in psychology, was one of the 19 inducted. Mr. Oing is a member of Tusculum’s chapter of the Psi Chi psychology honor society, serves as a tutor and has presented at the Southeastern Psychological Association’s annual meeting.
The new Alpha Chi inductees were congratulated on their achievement by Dr. Nancy B. Moody, president of Tusculum College. “I salute your many successes and challenge you to continue the hard work, dedication and commitment to excellence that has brought you to this place in your life,” she said.
Beth Wright, president of Tusculum’s Alpha Chi chapter, shared history and information about the honor society. Alpha Chi has been a respected college honor society since its founding in 1922. The society’s purpose is to promote academic excellence and exemplary character among college and university students and to honor those who achieve such distinction. Its name is derived from the first letter of the Greek words meaning truth and character, and its motto is “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free,” taken from John 8:32 in the Bible. Tusculum’s chapter was the first one established in the state.
Participating in the induction ceremony were Jordan Ottinger, vice president of the chapter, Joesph Elphingstone, secretary of the chapter; Addie Hancock of Mooresburg, treasurer of Alpha Chi, Dr. Troy Goodale, faculty sponsor for Tusculum’s Alpha Chi chapter and assistant professor of political science, and Dr. Melinda Dukes, vice president for academic affairs.