Dr. Susan Dutch, bottom row, far left, poses with Psi Chi members at the 2014 Psi Chi induction ceremony. (Photo submitted)
WESTFIELD – Westfield State University’s chapter of Psi Chi, International Honor Society in Psychology, has been awarded the Ruth Hubbard Cousins Chapter Award.
Psi Chi was founded in 1929 and has two primary purposes: to encourage, stimulate, and maintain excellence in scholarship, and to advance the science of psychology.
The award honors the top Psi Chi chapter in the country that best achieves Psi Chi’s purpose. Chapters considered for the award must offer quality programming, have increased enrollment, submit reports, vote in Psi Chi elections annually, and receive the Model Chapter Award each year for the previous three years.
Though Westfield State’s chapter made a master plan six years ago to attempt to win the award, Dr. Susan Dutch, professor of psychology and faculty advisor for Psi Chi, said she was surprised by the win.
“While we hoped to win the award, there are over 1,100 chapters at much larger universities that we had to compete against. I am very happy for the chapter’s success,” Dutch said.
The winning chapter receives $3,500, a commemorative plaque, and travel expenses for one officer to attend the APA or the APS National Convention to receive the award.
There are 12 active students in the Psi Chi club on campus. Students participate in community service projects, most recently a food drive to benefit the Westfield Food Pantry, and present their research at academic conventions. Membership perks include leadership development, student research experience, international recognition that can be noted on résumés, and accessibility to an international forum for obtaining information and developing perspectives about the field of psychology.
Dutch said Psi Chi allows her to work more closely with her students that are dedicated to the field.
“It gives me a connection to the students that can’t be obtained in the classroom or in a brief advising session,” Dutch said. “It is also so nice to be able to recognize our top students by providing them with a nice induction ceremony where their parents can watch them receive this honor.”
Psi Chi President Sharon Corliss ’14 said she enjoys the community service aspect of the honor society.
“I like being a member of Psi Chi because the organization promotes community involvement in the form of an Annual Service Project and various other ways that its members can give back to the community,” said Corliss.
Vice President of Psi Chi, Katelyn Campetti ’14 agrees.
“I enjoy being involved with Psi Chi for both the experience and the incentives it provides,” Campetti said. “We are able to connect with other psychology majors and form a community. Helping others is one of our primary focuses.”
When she learned that Psi Chi had achieved their goal of winning the award, Corliss was pleased.
“I am so proud of being the president of Psi Chi and being committed to an organization that is dedicated in providing other students opportunities to advance in the field of psychology,” Corliss said.
The award will be presented to a Westfield State student member of Psi Chi at either the National Convention for the Association for Psychological Science in May in San Francisco or at the American Psychological Association Convention in August in Washington D.C. Katelyn Campetti will present at the convention in San Francisco and Sharon Corliss and Shelby Smith (immediate past president) will present at the D.C. convention.
To join Psi Chi, students must meet a number of academic requirements including completing at least three semesters and declaring the psychology major or minor, completing at least 18 semester hours (nine courses) of psychology at Westfield State, and rank within the upper 33% of their class with at least a 3.2 GPA for undergrads and a 3.5 for graduate students. For more information on Psi Chi, visit www.psichi.org.
