One of the newest registered student organizations at UTM is Phi Alpha National Honor Society.
“This organization is for social work students only, and we will consider students for membership after completing their freshman year,” said Alton Alexander, president of Phi Alpha.
Phi Alpha National Honor Society was founded in 1960 by undergraduate social work students at Michigan State University. The organization now serves over 9,000 members annually. UTM’s Sigma Pi chapter is one of the newest chapters in Tennessee.
The purpose of Phi Alpha Honor Society is to promote humanitarian ideas as well as bonding social work students together. Students must achieve high academic performance in order to become a member and have the opportunity to receive a scholarship from Phi Alpha.
“To qualify for Phi Alpha, you must have an overall 3.0 GPA, have a 3.25 GPA in social work classes, and you must also complete nine credit hours of social work classes,” Alexander said.
On Feb. 25, 2014, 10 social work students, along with faculty adviser Daphne Henderson, signed a petition for university recognition of student organizations. Along with the petition, the students included the Phi Alpha Honor Society Constitution, which states: “Students and faculty involved in social work education at the University of Tennessee at Martin resolve to sponsor a Chapter of Phi Alpha National Honor Society thereby to foster high standards of education for social work and to invite into membership those who attained excellence of scholarship and distinction of achievement as a student of social work.”
If you are a social work major and would like more information about Phi Alpha, visit UTM’s student organization page at www.utm.edu/socwork/studentorg.
