The School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) at Kent State University has inducted nine alumni into the local (Rho) chapter of Beta Phi Mu, the international library and information science honorary society, at its Alumni & Friends Honors & Awards Program on Oct. 23 in Columbus.
Eligibility for membership is by invitation of the faculty from an American Library Association-accredited professional degree program. Prospective members must have an accumulative GPA of at least 3.75, must be in the top 25 percent of their graduating class, and must have superior potential for leadership.
[Beta Phi Mu inductees 2012] This year’s inductees include: Melissa Higey, Shelly S. Miller, Elizabeth Owens, Kathleen Rak, Laurence Skirvin, Riley Stoermer, Elizabeth Strauss, Maria Vega and Stefanie Walesch. All are 2011 graduates of the Master of Library and Information Science (M.L.I.S.) program.
Beta Phi Mu was founded in 1948 by a group of leading librarians and library educators to recognize and encourage scholastic achievement among library and information science students. The Rho chapter at Kent State was authorized in 1968. Monica Rudzinski, M.L.I.S. ’08, children's librarian at Cleveland Public Library, is chapter president, and SLIS associate lecturer Mary Anne Nichols, M.LS. '93, currently serves as advisor to the group. (Photo, left to right, Maria Vega, Elizabeth Owens, Shelly Miller, Kathleen Rak)