Academic Honor Societies hold April induction ceremonies

April 20, 2022

Faculty/staff report

Pi Mu Epsilon officers, members, new inductees and faculty during April 8 campus ceremonies.

Spring is the season for induction ceremonies among the many Saint Michel’s academic honor societies.

Here are the ceremonies that took place or are (in one case) upcoming this spring, with discipline categories being honored and faculty leaders for each.

April 8 ceremonies at various campus sites: Kappa Tau Alpha (MJD), Jerry Swope; Phi Alpha Theta (history), Kathryn Dungy; Sigma Beta Delta (business), Steve Doyon; Phi Beta Kappa (national liberal arts), Nat Lew; Psi Chi (psychology), David Boynton; Mu Sigma Rho (statistics) and Pi Mu Epsilon (mathematics), Mike Larsen and Amir Barghi. Chi Alpha Sigma (athletes), Meggan Dulude, see fuller report at this link about 25 new inductees.

Theta Alpha Kappa new inductees (religious studies) on April 9.

April 9 ceremonies: Delta Epsilon Sigma (Catholic colleges), Sandy Karstens; Theta Alpha Kappa (religious studies), Ray Patterson; Pi Sigma Alpha (political science), Jeffrey Ayres; Beta Beta Beta (biology), Dagan Loisel; Kappa Delta Pi (education), Amy Knight.

Upcoming on Wednesday, April 27: Omnicron Delta Epsilon (economics), Patrick Walsh. 4 p.m. at site TBD.

A few of the faculty advisers generously shared photos or reports from their April ceremonies:

Ray Patterson of the religious faculty shared the top and bottom photos here from the Chapel ceremony that took place Saturday, April 9 for Delta Epsilon Sigma National Honor Society for Catholic Colleges and Universities (DES) and Theta Alpha Kappa National Honor Society for Religious Studies and Theology (TAK). In the photo (which shows about half of the total inductees), Joan Wry of the English faculty and a longtime member of DES Honor Society shares reflections with the DES inductees.

Michael Larsen, math/statistics chair, generously provided this thorough report about honorees in his fields: On Friday, April 8, 2022, Saint Michael’s College’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics inducted new member of the Pi Mu Epsilon (PME) National Mathematics Honor Society (top right photo in story) and the Mu Sigma Rho (MSR) National Statistics Honor Society. PME promotes mathematics and recognizes who have been successful in mathematics.

Mu Sigma Rho inductees with faculty adviser Michael Larsen at right on April 8.

MSR encourages scholarly activity in statistics and recognizes outstanding achievement among students and instructional staff. The Saint Michael’s chapter of PME, chartered in 2003, was the first in the state of Vermont. The degree programs in statistics and data science at St. Mike’s started in 2018; this is the third year students have been inducted into MSR. Three students (Paige Fleming’22, E. Constantin Krogh’22, and Rebecca Parmentier’22) were inducted into PME. They join 16 students and two faculty members who were inducted in the fall of this school year as new members. Nine students (Maggie Burnham’22, Kenny Cesar’22, Summer Chapnois’23, Paige Fleming’22, E. Constantin Krogh’22, Parker Lamber’23, Rebecca Parmentier’22, Kevin Russel’23, and Aidan Westfal’23) joined the ranks of MSR. In addition to induction into honor societies, the occasion acknowledged student Aidan Westfall for participating in the 2021 William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition. Students from Saint Michael’s have engaged in the annual national competition for many years. Three faculty members who taught courses for the department were recognized: Patricia Bunt, instructor in physics , MA 104 Precalculus, Ada Morse, adjunct instructor, MA 130 Elements of Calculus, and Maria Jose Magalhaes, adjunct instructor, ST 120 Elementary Statistics. Certificates of appreciation went to students who served as graders and tutors for the department in 2021-22.

Students and their roles are as follows: Maggie Burnham, attached tutor DS 203 Introduction to Data Science, fall 2021; Cailey Comiskey, grader, ST 120, fall and spring; Grace Saunders, attached tutor, ST 120, fall and spring; Rebecca Parmentier, attached tutor, ST 251 Probability and ST 252 Mathematical Statistics; Emma LaRose, attached tutor, MA 115 Mathematics for Teachers, fall 2021; Lauren Best, attached tutor, MA 115, fall 2021; James Downs, grader, MA 115, fall 2021; Eli Rankin, attached tutor, MA 130, fall 2021; Camille Gallagher, attached tutor, MA 150 Calculus I, fall 2021 & 1-1 tutor for MA 112 Mathematics in Context, spring 2022; Sam Belanger, attached tutor, MA 150, fall 2021; Zac Hinds, attached tutor, MA 160 Calculus II and MA 211 Calculus III, fall and spring; Aidan Westfall, grader, MA 211, fall and spring; Ben Mogensen, attached tutor, ST 120, spring 2022; Summer Chaponis, 1-1 tutor, MA 112, spring 2022; Lexi DeBlois, attached tutor, MA 130, spring 2022; and Ward Pierson, attached tutor, MA 160, spring 2022. “Peers helping peers is one mark of strength for the community,” Michael Larsen said.

In addition to the students being recognized, the celebration was attended by faculty members from the department and friends, who noted that in-person events such as this have been rare since the spring of 2020 and it was good to resume them. Refreshments were served.