National Sociology Honor Society

The Greek letters AKD stand for: anthrôpos, meaning mankind; katamanthanô, meaning to examine closely or acquire knowledge, and; diakoneô meaning to do service. The goals of this international honor society are to investigate humanity for the purpose of service, to promote scholarship, and to foster fellowship among faculty and students, both at the graduate and undergraduate levels.

Over the past eight decades, over 80,000 scholars have been initiated into AKD, and more than 490 chapters have been chartered in the United States, Canada, China, Finland, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Singapore. Its growth and development has been a contributing force in the promotion of scholarship in sociology.  

For graduate students, the following specific requirements must have been met prior to the time of initiation: completion of one half year [one semester] of graduate study in sociology  with a graduate GPA of B or better, and continued matriculation in a program of study leading toward a graduate degree in sociology at the host institution  (Brief History of Alpha Kappa Delta,1998-2000).

The Graduate Program in Sociology at VCU has a long history of involvement with AKD. Over the years, members have organized various philanthropic, social, and scholarly activities, and have brought in guest speakers whose work is highly regarded in the discipline. 

Past keynote speakers include: 

In the spring of 2002 and 2003, AKD collaborated with a number of other groups in a service project to benefit low income women. This year, AKD is working on the VCU Resource Center as a project, collecting cell phones that will go to women who are at risk of being abused, and fixing up the center itself.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

PLEASE CHECK HERE FOR MEETING SCHEDULE

April 21, 2006

Thank you to everyone who attended the induction ceremony on April 14th. It was informative and fun. We held a meeting today for the new members, and several resolutions were agreed upon:

1. We are committed to collecting old cell phones from students on campus and donating them to the Gender Violence Resource Center in the Bird House. These old cell phones are refurbished by Verizon for free and then programmed to dial 911 for potential victims who do not have phones. This is a very simple contribution we can make, and easy for us to organize. Please come up with an idea to collect them and make a commitment to personally collect 20 phones by the end of the semester.

2. Next year, the Resource Center is moving (location still undetermined), but help will be needed to set it up, organize the materials, and decorate etc... please come up with some ideas about how you can contribute.

3. Our President next year will be Dave Lane (call him "Bush"). Cheryl Mora will be Vice-President (call her "Cheney"). Peter Moody has agreed to be the Treasurer (call him "Oh Blessed One").

4. Next meeting time: TBA - check your emial.

2005-2006 News

There were 18 new inductees in 2006, and the ceremony on April 14th hosted a guest panel of former VCU Master's of Sociology students who are working in the community. The discussion was on applied sociology, and the use of sociological theory in the community.

Albrecht, Ashley Undergraduate
Barker, Nathan Graduate
Bhagi, Nitin Undergraduate
Bradshaw, Sarah Undergraduate
Brame, James Graduate
Cox, Chelsey O. Graduate
Eavey, Ashley Undergraduate
Evans, William Graduate
Everly, Rachel Graduate
Hood, Kristina Graduate
Hudson, Angela Undergraduate
Kozma, Zsuzsa Graduate
Kremmer, Sean graduate
Lane, Dave Graduate
Meyer, Chris Graduate
Murray, Kelly Undergraduate
Patterson, Khari Undergraduate
Peters, Sarah Undergraduate
Pollack, Tracey Undergraduate
Villalon, Cody Undergraduate
Zamora, Guillermo Graduate