On Wednesday, April 24, Emporia State University’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences hosted an induction and awards reception for students who have excelled and demonstrated a high regard for History. Undergraduate students must complete a minimum of 12 semester hours (4 courses) in History, earned in the classroom, online or through AP or transfer credits (or a combination thereof). A minimum GPA of 3.1 in History and 3.0 GPA overall are required.
Victoria R. Perkins, a Eureka Junior/Senior High School Class of 2022 graduate, was part of seven ESU students to be honored. The evening showcased Perkins and others being inducted into the Phi Alpha Theta (PAT): Alpha, Gamma, Zeta Chapter. The following were admitted into the PAT: Taylor O. Breuer, Samantha P. Grafton, Zachary A. Heidenreich, Kevin M. Lauber, Perkins, Cadon A. Stanley and Drayton R. Willey. Professor Dillion O’Keefe made the presentation to the inductees. The keynote speaker for the evening was Rebekah Chung, a journalist who works with KSNT 27 News in Kansas City. Mo. Chung shared several stories about her career and the impact of a recent event during the victory parade for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Nels Andrew Cleven established the National Honor Society in History, PAT, at the University of Arkansas on March 17, 1921. Dr. Cleven regarded fraternities as “an essential spirit of the age… searchers all for Truth in History.” Such societies were crucial because “the human side of scholarship needs to be nurtured and thought made articulate.” During this time period, not such societies existed for History majors. He envisioned a secret fraternity; open to women and men, which would embrace the “entire History of Mankind.” By chance, a painting depicting ancient Assyria and featuring a six-pointed Star of Divinity hung on the wall of his classroom. The star became the central symbol for the History fraternity. On March 14, 1921, Dr. Cleven presided over a meeting in this classroom with a group of History students. Those present voted to create the University Historical Society.
Today, the PAT has grown to more than nine hundred chapters in all fifty states. Since its inception there are more than 500,000 nationwide. PAT is a nationally certified academic honor society for colleges and universities whose mission is to promote the study of History through the encouragement of research, good teaching, publication, and the exchange of learning and ideas among Historians. They seek to bring students, teachers and writers of History together for intellectual and social exchanges, which promote and assist Historical research and publication by their members in a variety of ways.
The PAT is a professional society whose mission is to promote the study of history through encouraging research, good teaching, publication, and the exchange of learning and ideas among historians. They seek to bring students and teachers together for intellectual and social exchanges, which promote and assist historical research and publication by our members in a variety of ways.
(Courtesy photo)
