History Department Honors Students

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On May 2 the department of history of the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences celebrated student success in 2012-13 with its annual Student Awards Ceremony. Professor Laurence Hare provided a warm and lively welcome to the assembled group and outlined student achievements over the past year.

The centerpiece of the ceremony was the induction of 22 new student members into the Phi Alpha Theta honors society. Phi Alpha Theta is the largest college honor society devoted to a single discipline in the nation with 820 chapters in the U.S. and three other countries. The society has over 350,000 members and inducts nearly 10,000 new members every year.

The society was founded on this campus on March 17, 1921, making the University of Arkansas chapter the nation’s Alpha Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta. History Masters student Mary Katherine Henderson, who serves as president of Phi Alpha Theta, presided over the induction ceremony where students were given red roses and took an oath to promote historical research and the exchange of ideas.

In addition to the Phi Alpha Theta initiation, the department bestowed nearly $50,000 in scholarships and awards to undergraduate and graduate students. These awards come as a result of generous donations from alumni and friends of history over the years. Forty-three students were celebrated for their scholarship and devotion to history with awards for research travel, continued study, and outstanding papers.