A new chapter of Sigma Delta Pi, the national collegiate Hispanic honor society, opened on campus with an induction ceremony March 22 in the Danforth University Center.
Six graduate students and seven undergraduates were named as members of the chapter.
“We feel it is important to recognize the hard work and academic achievement of our students and that such an opportunity should be made available to the undergraduates,” said Stacy Davis Zeytinci, a doctoral student in Romance languages and literatures and executive secretary for the chapter. “As well, we feel it is also an important way to form a link between undergraduate and graduate students in our department.”
Elzbieta Sklodowska, PhD, the Randolph Family Professor of Spanish and chair of the Department of Romance languages and literatures in Arts & Sciences, and Virginia Braxs, senior lecturer in Spanish in Arts & Sciences, were named honorary members, a role granted to people who have contributed significantly to Hispanic studies and service to the community.
Sigma Delta Pi was established in 1919 at the University of California, Berkeley. It now includes more than 560 chapters in 49 states. It is the largest foreign-language honor society in the world.
Sigma Delta Pi’s objectives are:
- to honor those who attain excellence in the study of the Spanish language and in the study of the literature and culture of Spanish-speaking people;
- to honor those who have made the Hispanic contributions to modern culture better known in the English-speaking world;
- to encourage college and university students to acquire a greater interest in and a deeper understanding of Hispanic culture;
- to foster friendly relations and mutual respect between the nations of Hispanic speech and those of English speech;
- and to serve its membership in ways which will contribute to the attainment of the goals and ideals of the society.
For more information, e-mail Zeytinci at sldavis@artsci.wustl.edu.