FAIRPORT, New York – Eileen Merberg, Executive Director of Alpha Lambda Delta Academic Honor Society, announced that the Kent State University chapter has won the Maintaining the Flame Award for their activities during the 2021-22 academic year. The chapter won its second Order of the Torch Award in 2021. Chapters who are awarded the Order of the Torch are ineligible to apply for the award for the next four years. To reward continued excellence, the Board of Directors bestows the Maintaining the Flame Award to chapters who are ineligible for the Order of the Torch. Winners receive a pin to affix to their Order of the Torch banner. This award highlights continued excellence in programming, internal communications, campus visibility, and overall presentation of their application.
This year the Board of Directors of Alpha Lambda Delta recognized nine chapters across the nation with the Maintaining the Flame award: University of Connecticut, Dickinson College, High Point University, IUPUI, Kent State University, University of Oklahoma, Otterbein University, Purdue University, and University of Texas at Austin. Winning scrapbooks may be found at www.nationalald.org/torch.
The successful chapter at Kent State University was led by: Maggie Selva, president; Julie Duszak, vice president; Abby Forbes and Christabel Akhigbe, co-programming chairs; Catie Pusateri and Grace Altieri, co-communications chairs; Abby Zannino, membership chair; and Moira Armstrong, senior advisor. The chapter was advised by Lauren Huffman.
“We sincerely appreciate the work it takes to achieve the Maintaining the Flame award. The students from these winning institutions demonstrated high quality programming, outstanding communication across campus and in their communities, and overall excellence” said Merberg. College students have to juggle many responsibilities including academics, family, work, friends, community service, and participation in campus organizations. Given these reasons, Merberg notes “it is truly impressive what the winning chapters were able to accomplish this past year. Even more so with a pandemic that interrupted the academic year, these chapters were able to stay engaged and continue the important work of supporting student success.”
Alpha Lambda Delta
Alpha Lambda Delta is an honor society that recognizes students’ academic success in their first year at a college or university. Founded in 1924 and active on 280 campuses, Alpha Lambda Delta inducts 22,000 members annually and has over 1.2 million lifetime members. Alpha Lambda Delta’s mission is to “encourage superior academic achievement, to promote intelligent living and a continued high standard of learning, and to assist students in recognizing and developing meaningful goals for their unique roles in society.” Since 1939, Alpha Lambda Delta has been a member in good standing with the Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS), the only national accrediting body for collegiate honor societies. For more information, contact Trish Maxwell at trish@nationalald.org or 585.364.0840.