Public Affairs Honor Society Earns Recognition

The UT Dallas chapter of Pi Alpha Alpha, the public affairs honor society, has been selected to receive the national Pi Alpha Alpha Chapter Award of Excellence for 2008.

“The purpose of the Chapter Award of Excellence is to recognize excellence in programming and chapter management in pursuit of Pi Alpha Alpha’s goals of scholarship, leadership, and excellence in graduate education in public affairs and administration,” said Dr. Janet Hutchinson, chair of the selection committee.

UT Dallas chapter adviser Dr. Doug Watson will accept the award, along with the Faculty Adviser Award of Excellence, at the October national meeting of National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) in Charleston, S.C.

The UT Dallas chapter is one of 143 Pi Alpha Alpha chapters across the United States.  “Our chapter is very pleased to be recognized by the national leaders of Pi Alpha Alpha as the nation’s top chapter this year,” Watson said.

Watson also emphasized the chapter has “had outstanding student leadership since the inception of Pi Alpha Alpha in December 2004. This past year’s officers led by Dr. Karen Jarrell were exceptional and deserve credit for this national recognition.”

The officers for 2007-2008 included: Dr. Jarrell, president; Kyle Coby Pewitt, vice president; Dr. Suzanne Rivera, secretary; Michael Pose, treasurer; Kathy Rowe, parliamentarian; David Stephens, webmaster; and Tom Browning, immediate past president.

“As a young chapter, I am humbled by this honor,” Jarrell said. “UT Dallas is lucky to have faculty committed to student success as practitioners and scholars, something one does not find every day in Public Affairs programs across the nation. I believe our chapter exemplifies transformational leadership at both the graduate and undergraduate level, and I am proud to have served alongside each and every member.”.

The UT Dallas chapter of Pi Alpha Alpha was founded in December 2004.  Public affairs master’s and doctoral students who have completed at least 21 hours with a GPA of 3.7 or better are eligible for membership.  The chapter also recently expanded to include exceptional undergraduate public affairs majors. Thirty students were inducted at the annual chapter dinner in March 2008.

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