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Pictured are Psi Chi officers Harley Spero (president), Josie Hasselbring (vice president), Laura Corbige (treasurer), Stephanie Lopez (secretary), along with Associate Professor Jonathan Hammersley (faculty advisor).
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WIU’s Chapter of Psi Chi International Honors Society in Psychology Celebrates 50th Anniversary

February 13, 2019

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MACOMB, IL – Western Illinois University's local chapter of Psi Chi has been notified by the International Honors Society in Psychology of its 50-year anniversary since its initial charter. The current officers and members are organizing departmental events to celebrate the anniversary.

Psi Chi International Honor Society has more than 1,130 chapters around the world. To be eligible as a chapter, a WIU Department of Psychology must require that majors take courses to foster a scientific understanding of the breadth of psychology, include courses in research methods and statistics, provide experiential learning opportunities such as research and internships and have full-time faculty members holding doctoral degrees in psychology. Students meeting minimum scholastic eligibility requirements pay a one-time fee to become a lifetime Psi Chi member.

The WIU chapter of Psi Chi, along with its companion student organization the Psychology Club, is led by a group of elected student officers. Each year, the organization hosts educational events, organizes social activities and encourages community service involvement among its members.

"I'm thrilled to be the faculty advisor for such a fantastic and accomplished group of students, and am excited to be part of celebrating our 50th anniversary," said chapter advisor Associate Professor Jonathan Hammersley. "Our Psi Chi chapter has been very active, meeting as a group every other week and doing a number of activities on and off campus, such as end of semester cookouts, regular fundraisers and service activities, and seminars on graduate school and job applications or GRE workshops for our students. There are a lot of benefits to being involved in Psi Chi, and once students join Psi Chi, it is a lifetime membership: I am actually still benefiting as member myself from joining as a student back in 1997."

In 2015, the WIU chapter of Psi Chi was awarded $1,000 in monetary support from the Psi Chi International Honors Society to host the annual ILLOWA Undergraduate Psychology Student Research conference. ILLOWA is the longest-running undergraduate psychology research conference in the United States, celebrating its 45th year in 2018. Hosting the event is a responsibility that is rotated among several regional colleges and universities.

For more information about WIU's Psi Chi/Psychology Club, visit wiu.edu/cas/psychology/psychologyclub.php.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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