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Bring on the Honors!

ORU School of Education does it again

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Dr. Timothy Norton, graduate representative for the new Kappa Delta Pi chapter at ORU, greets students and their families during the installation ceremony this spring.
Dr. Timothy Norton, graduate representative for the new Kappa Delta Pi chapter at ORU, greets students and their families during the installation ceremony this spring.
Click Photo to Enlarge
Students take part in the ceremony that will install them as members of Kappa Delta Pi, an honors society for educators that was first established in 1927.
Students take part in the ceremony that will install them as members of Kappa Delta Pi, an honors society for educators that was first established in 1927.
Click Photo to Enlarge
Jerry Eshleman, the representative of undergraduate students in Kappa Delta Pi, lights candles that represent the different values of the national society, including scholarship, inquiry, and service.
Jerry Eshleman, the representative of undergraduate students in Kappa Delta Pi, lights candles that represent the different values of the national society, including scholarship, inquiry, and service.
The ORU School of Education is no stranger to accolades, prizes, and awards. Every year, it seems, a fresh wave of honors--from Teacher of the Year winners to the highest level of national accreditation--is bestowed upon faculty members, students, alumni, and the school itself.

That's why it comes as a bit of a surprise that, until this spring, there was no honors society just for ORU education majors.

Now, of course, there is.

With the support of the school's dean, Dr. David Hand, faculty members Dr. Timothy Norton and Jerry Eshleman worked together to install a new chapter of the Kappa Delta Pi honors society at ORU. "I guess you could say the Lord nudged us on this one," Dr. Norton laughed. "It kind of hit everybody's mind at the same time. When I went to Dr. Hand to discuss [installing an honors society chapter], he said he'd been thinking about it, too, and so had Jerry!"

Twenty undergraduate and graduate students and two faculty members were officially inducted into the society during a chapter installation ceremony held on March 10. Dr. Janette Rogers, a professor of education at Northeastern State University and the immediate past president of the national society, was the keynote speaker. She also presented the charter to Dr. Ralph Fagin, Vice President for Academic Affairs at ORU.

"I am proud and honored to install a chapter at ORU," Dr. Rogers told the faculty, students, and their proud families. "ORU is known for its rigorous standards, diverse population, and outstanding opportunities for educators. Kappa Delta Pi also values scholarship and high personal standards, so this is truly a good match."

To become members of the Kappa Delta Pi chapter at ORU, undergraduate students must be admitted into the School of Education and have a 3.5 (out of 4.0) grade-point average; graduate students must have completed 9 hours and have a 3.8 GPA. Norton, already a Kappa Delta Pi member from his student days at the College of William and Mary, is the representative for graduate students, and Eshleman is the undergraduate representative.

In addition to being recognized as among the top 20 percent of teacher candidates and practicing educators in the country, members also have access to Kappa Delta Pi publications, networking opportunities with other top educators, and regular professional development workshops and conferences.
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