Recognized Honors Societies

Alpha Kappa Mu (AKM) Honor Society is a general scholarship honor society open to junior and senior students in all academic disciplines. AKM was founded at Tennessee A&I College (Tennessee State University) in Nashville on Nov. 26, 1937. The Kappa Tau chapter at Central State University was established in 1948.

AKM's purpose is to recognize and reward high academic achievement and encourage young scholars to appreciate the roles they must play as participating citizens in a democratic social order. AKM is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies. A minimum 3.3 GPA is required to apply for membership. 

Co-advisors

Professor Wendy Berry-West | wberry-west@centralstate.edu | 937-376-6446

G. Jahwara Giddings, Ph.D. | ggiddings@centralstate.edu | 937-376-6464

History

Founded at West Chester University of Pennsylvania, Chi Alpha Epsilon was organized in 1989. Responding to an increased need to acknowledge the continuing successes of students in the Academic Development Program and recognizing that students who share similar experiences could serve as significant models for others, a Greek letter honor society was proposed by Elbert Saddler, Ph.D. A university psychologist and counseling coordinator for the ACT 101 Program, Saddler identified eligible students and alumni to form the nucleus who are now the founding members of XAE.

The National Association for Developmental Education (NADE) has officially endorsed Chi Alpha Epsilon as an honor society for developmental education students. The Council for Opportunity in Education is also encouraging participation. Chi Alpha Epsilon was formed to recognize the academic achievements of students admitted to colleges and universities through non-traditional criteria and serves developmental, SSS, McNair Scholars, and Educational Opportunity Program students.

On May 13, 2000, seven students participating in the TRIO Student Support Services Program chartered the Alpha Upsilon chapter at Central State University.

Who qualifies

Members pledge to continue to excel academically, promote academic excellence in others, and to help those who genuinely aspire to the same goals. Membership is offered through local campus chapters to eligible students and alumni.

Eligible students hold a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA for two consecutive full-time semesters or three or four consecutive part-time semesters and are participants of a higher education opportunity type programs.

Advisor

Mortenous Johnson, Ph.D. | mjohnson@centralstate.edu | 937-376-6411

Delta Mu Delta (DMD) was founded on Nov. 18, 1913. The founders were five professors from Harvard, Yale, and New York University, who believed that exceptional students in business should be given recognition similar to that by Phi Beta Kappa in the field of liberal arts.

Delta Mu Delta was incorporated in 1952. In 1963, it was admitted to membership in the Association of College Honor Societies. In 1992, the society established an affiliation with Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) whereby future chapter establishment occurs only at colleges and universities with business programs accredited by the ACBSP at the baccalaureate/graduate level.

The purpose of Delta Mu Delta is to promote higher scholarship in business training and to recognize and reward scholastic attainment in business subjects. Delta Mu Delta is a business honor society that recognizes and encourages the academic excellence of students at qualifying colleges and universities to create a DMD community that fosters the well-being of its individual members and the business community through life-time membership.

Delta Mu Delta Xi Xi Chapter was started at Central State University in 2016 after the College of Business was accredited by ACBSP.

Advisors

Saima Bashir, Ph.D. | sbashir@centralstate.edu | 937-376-6428

George Owusu-Antwi, Ph.D. | gowusu-antwi@centralstate.edu | 614-348-9736

Golden Key (GK) International Honour Society is the world’s largest international collegiate honor society for graduate and undergraduate students. Founded in 1977 at Georgia State University, there are over 2 million GK members worldwide in over 180 countries.

The mission of GK is to enable members to realize their potential through the advancement of academics, leadership, and service.

To qualify for membership, students must be in the top 15% of their class. Central State University's chapter of GK was founded in 2022.

For more information, visit https://goldenkey.org/.

Co-advisors

Theresa Aikens, Ph.D. | taikens@centralstate.edu | 937-376-6655

Brandy Phipps, Ph.D. | bphipps@centralstate.edu | 937-376-6358

The National Society for Leadership and Success provides everything you need to build the leadership, career, and life skills on campus. Whether you’re looking to develop or enhance your leadership skills, NSLS provides the tools and resources you need to create lasting positive change across academic disciplines. For more information, visit https://www.nsls.org/chapter-details/central-state-university.

Advisor 

Craig Johnson | cjohnson1@centralstate.edu  | 937-376-6285

The purpose of Phi Alpha Honor Society is to provide a closer bond among students of social work and promote humanitarian goals and ideas. Phi Alpha fosters high standards of education for social workers and invites into membership those who have attained excellence in scholarship and achievement in social work. 

Eligibility 

• Completed 45 Credit Hours  
• Nine credit hours (three classes) of the 45 credit hours must be in Social Work
• Cumulative GPA of at least at 2.5

Benefits

• Receive access to awards, grants, and scholarship programs
• Take advantage of scholarship and service-focused presentation opportunities
• Build relationships with students, faculty, professionals, universities, and communities 
• Complete service-learning projects  
• Attend chapter meetings and leadership opportunities and more

For more information, visit https://phialpha.org/.

Co-advisors 

Jonathan Trauth, Ph.D. | jtrauth@centralstate.edu | 937-376-6050 

Nikkita Jackson | njackson@centralstate.edu | 937-376-6523

Karen Johnson-Jordan | kjohnsonjordan@centralstate.edu | 937-376-6252

Pi Sigma Alpha is the national honor society for Political Science. Membership in Pi Sigma Alpha is open to undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled in programs of political science in institutions where chapters are located.

Undergraduates must meet the following criteria:

• Complete at least one-half of the credits required by their institution for the baccalaureate degree;
• Complete at least 10 semester credits (or 15 quarter credits if their institution is on the quarter system) of work in political science including at least one upper-division course, with an average grade of B or higher in those courses
• Achieve an overall GPA placing them in the top one-third of their whole class (e.g., junior or senior class). 

Majoring in political science is not required for membership. 

For more information, visit https://pisigmaalpha.org/.

Advisor 

Brittany Page Brake | bbrake@centralstate.edu | 937-376-6011

The Honor Society associated with the Psychology program in Social and Behavioral Science is Psi Chi.

Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology, was founded in 1929 with a mission to encourage excellence in scholarship and advance the science of psychology. More than 750,000 lifetime members have joined, including distinguished members such as Drs. Albert Bandura, B. F. Skinner, and Phillip Zimbardo.

A few popular membership benefits include international recognition for academic excellence and access to psychology-related publications and more than $400,000 in annual awards and grants.

Lifetime membership is open to undergraduate and graduate students, transfer students, full-time and part-time faculty members, and alumni. Individuals become members by joining their local Psi Chi chapter. See our specific membership requirements at www.psichi.org.

Mission

Recognizing and promoting excellence in the science and application of psychology.

Purpose

Psi Chi is an international honor society whose purpose shall be to encourage, stimulate, and maintain excellence in scholarship of the individual members in all fields, particularly in psychology, and to advance the science of psychology.

Diversity and Inclusion

Psi Chi is an international organization of professionals, scientists, faculty, students, and alumni whose mission is to recognize and promote excellence in the science and application of psychology. Psi Chi is committed to diversity and inclusion in all of its forms through research; clinical, community, and professional applications; education; mentorship; and organizational leadership.

As scholars and practitioners in the field of psychology, we recognize the rich and nuanced factors that contribute to the expression of prejudice, including social, community, familial, and psychological processes. Findings from psychological science and related fields document numerous negative consequences to the mental health and wellbeing of individuals and communities from exposure to discrimination, whether temporary or chronic.

As an organization, we work to address all forms of hate and oppression, including racial, ethnic, and gender inequality, refugee and immigrant bias, religious prejudice, sexual harassment and sexual violence, social class marginalization, biases related to sexual orientation and gender identity, age, physical, and other disabilities, among many others. We believe that our mission can be fulfilled only by supporting and encouraging people of varied racial, ethnic, gender identity, sexual orientation, and social class backgrounds to both participate in conducting psychological research, education, practice, training, and service, and to recognize and value diverse people within these contexts. The scope of our organizational relevance is only as broad as the diversity of our membership and their scholarly pursuits.

Advisor 

Theresa Aikens, Ph.D. |taikens@centralstate.edu| 937-376-6655

Sigma Tau Delta is the International English Honor Society. It is open to students whether they are English majors or majoring in other concentrations. Students can become lifetime Sigma Tau Delta members, which provides them access to a number of networking tools and the opportunity to present their work at the annual Sigma Tau Delta convention, as well as opportunities for leadership roles throughout Sigma Tau Delta.

Central State University recently received recognition for its chapter's 25-year membership.

For more information, visit https://www.english.org.

Co-advisors

Kenneth Hayes, Ph.D. | khayes@centralstate.edu | 937-376-6533

William Abbott, MFA | wabbott@centralstate.edu | 937-376-6118