The Journey
A newsletter for chapter advisors, chapter officers, and
regional officers.
June/July 2001
Issue
Phi Theta Kappa, Phi Beta Kappa, National Honor Society Announce Alliance
“The seriousness of the problem, the devaluation of general education, begs those organizations which represent excellence in education to assume advocacy roles. To ignore this issue would compromise the future of education at all levels."
Phi Theta Kappa Executive Director Rod A. Risley
An initiative to ensure a balance between liberal arts education and career training courses has been forged by Phi Theta Kappa and the premier honor societies for senior college and high school students.
The Alliance for Educational Excellence, an initiative to promote liberal arts curricula at all levels of education, was announced in April at a press conference held in Washington, D.C. Phi Theta Kappa, Phi Beta Kappa and the National Honor Society announced the first collaborative program in the history of the three honors associations. Each organization will use Phi Theta Kappa's Honors Study Program as the focus for programming.
The National Honor Society will promote implementation of the Honors Study Program in publications and conventions. Phi Theta Kappa chapters will invite high school honor society chapters to community colleges to participate this fall in five Satellite Seminars co-produced by Phi Theta Kappa and the National Collegiate Honors Council. Phi Beta Kappa will coordinate a panel presentation on the Honors Study Program at the National Honor Society Convention this November in Louisville, Kentucky. Panelists will include community college faculty representatives.
As a result of the Alliance, representatives of the National Honor Society and the National Collegiate Honors Council have been named to Phi Theta Kappa’s Honors Committee. David Cordts, Associate Director of the National Honor Society’s parent group, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, and Dr. Hew Joiner, president of the NCHC, will serve on the Honors Committee, of which Phi Beta Kappa Secretary Dr. Douglas W. Foard is a permanent member.
The Honors Committee, which is charged with determining the Honors Study Topic and providing guidance toward its implementation, is chaired by Director of Honors Programs Billy Wilson, and also includes as members educational consultant Dr. Joan Fedor, advisors Connie LaMarca-Frankel, Robin Rich-Coates, Richard Rouillard and Dr. Jeannette Sasmor, and Associate Director Mike Watson.
Press coverage of the Alliance can be found here. For more information, contact Phi Theta Kappa Executive Director Rod A. Risley, rod.risley@ptk.org or 601.957.2241, ext. 518.
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