Pi Gamma Mu
Encyclopedia
Pi Gamma Mu or ΠΓΜ is the oldest and preeminent honor society
in the social sciences
. It is also the only interdisciplinary social science honor society. It serves the various social science disciplines which seek to understand and explain human behavior and social relationships as well as their concomitant problems and issues. Pi Gamma Mu's constitution defines the social sciences to include the disciplines of history, political science, sociology, anthropology, economics, psychology, international relations, criminal justice, social work, social philosophy, history of education, and human geography. Membership is also extended to interdisciplinary social science fields that build on the core social science disciplines, such as business administration, education, cultural and area studies, public administration, and organizational behavior.
The mission of Pi Gamma Mu is to encourage and recognize superior scholarship in social science disciplines and to foster cooperation and social service among its members.
in Winfield
, Kansas
and Dr. William Angus Hamilton, dean of both the Law School and School of Business Administration
at The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg
, Virginia
established an honor society to promote academic excellence and achieve "integration and humanization" in the social sciences. The early 1900s witnessed the autonomous development of the younger social science fields, including social work
, international relations
and criminal justice
. Of greater concern among some of the leading scholars of the time was what they saw as the increasing tendency toward "sheer quantification" and "mensuration" in the traditional social science disciplines. The founders of the new honor society believed that "if the social sciences are to render any adequate service to humanity, factionalism, separatism and dehumanization in them must be overcome."
The honor society was named Pi Gamma Mu from the initials of the three Greek words that describe the Society's objective: Politixes Gnōseōs Mathetai (Πολιτικές Γνώσεως Μάθεται), the study of political and social science. The term Politixes or "political science or phenomena" encompassed the field of economics
, which was then commonly referred to as political economy
, its original name. Pi Gamma Mu stood not only for scholarship in the social sciences, but also for synthesis and cooperation among its various branches. It was an early advocate of an interdisciplinary as well as a cross-disciplinary approach to the study of social problems.
In Dean Allen, Pi Gamma Mu had a creative visionary and in Dean Hamilton a highly respected leader who was also described as "an authority on fraternal organizations and a leader in fraternal circles." By November 1924, the founding members led by Dean Allen and Dean Hamilton had drafted a constitution for the Society and issued charters to the first 17 chapters, mostly private, liberal arts colleges and universities led by Southwestern College and the College of William and Mary. The next year, the first issue of the Society's official journal, Social Science (subtitled "For the scientific study of social problems"), was published and distributed to its members. The journal's stated objectives were "the promotion of the social sciences in college curricula" and "the integration of the social sciences in the education of students." The Society was formally incorporated as a non-profit organization
in the state of Colorado
in 1929 under the name "The National Social Science Honor Society, Pi Gamma Mu, Inc".
After Dr. Hamilton died in 1929, much of the groundwork for the new Society had to be laid by Dr. Allen who served as its first national president (1924–1931) and then national secretary (1931–1947). Pi Gamma Mu had for its succeeding presidents several distinguished social scientists, including the noted sociologist and American Sociological Association president Charles Abram Ellwood of Duke University
, co-founder of the Society and its president from 1931 to 1937, Dr. S. Howard Patterson (president, 1937–1951), a renowned microeconomist who was then professor of economics at the Wharton School
of the University of Pennsylvania
and author of several classic textbooks in the field, and political scientist W. Leon Godshall of Lehigh University
, the Society's president from 1951 until his untimely death in 1956 and under whose initiative the founding of foreign chapters was authorized.
At a time when very few women held leadership positions anywhere, Pi Gamma Mu elected Grace Raymond Hebard
, one of its founders, as national vice-president (1924–1931). Then the foremost historian of the Native Americans, Dr. Hebard was also a civil engineer, surveyor, bibliography scholar, head of the University of Wyoming
's political economy department and a leader in the women's suffrage movement in the United States.
The late 1920s and 1930s was a period of heightened growth for Pi Gamma Mu. Columbia University
in New York City
was the first large university to establish a chapter (1925) of the Society. The University of Hawaii
chapter was the first to be organized outside of the continental United States. In 1932, the first foreign chapter was chartered at the University of Toronto
in Canada
. Later that year, a chapter was also installed at the University of the Philippines
; a second Philippine chapter was organized at De La Salle University
in 1989. In 1955, the trustees of Pi Gamma Mu voted to grant a charter to the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico
. In 2007, the Kuwait Alpha at the American University of Kuwait
became Pi Gamma Mu's newest international chapter.
To acknowledge its chapters outside of the United States, the Board of Trustees took action in 1980 to change the name of the Society to "Pi Gamma Mu, International Honor Society in Social Sciences". In 1982, the name of its official journal was also changed to International Social Science Review. In 1991 to enhance its international scope, the trustees approved the conferring of affiliate (or associate member) status on visiting fellows and exchange students who demonstrate academic excellence in their fields but are not otherwise expected to complete their degree programs at a Pi Gamma Mu sheltering college or university. The same international emphasis continued as the Philippines Alpha chapter commemorated its 75th Anniversary on March 7, 2007. The unique influence of the Philippines Alpha chapter is recorded in Scott Johnston’s work, Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society in Social Science First 75 Years: “Again the quality of the people elected to the Philippines Alpha chapter has been most impressive. They have included two Presidents of the Republic, two Prime Ministers, a dozen Supreme Court Justices, and two dozen Cabinet members. Concerning the University of the Philippines itself, there have been six Presidents, a dozen Vice Chancellors and dozens upon dozens of Deans of the University.”
In 1996, Kay Anderson, professor of social work at University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
in Texas
, became the first female president (1996–2002) of the Society.
Pi Gamma Mu currently has active chapters in over 150 colleges and universities. Its total elected members number over 234,000. Dr. Gordon Mercer, professor of political science and director of the Public Policy Institute at Western Carolina University
, currently serves as president of the Society.
Newly initiated members receive an engraved membership certificate, a membership card, the Society key or pin, and one-year subscription to its official journal and newsletter. A one-time induction fee covers these and the privilege of lifetime membership in Pi Gamma Mu, including participation in its various activities, attendance at scholarly meetings, and eligibility to compete for graduate fellowships. Membership in Pi Gamma Mu can also advance a federal employee's civil service position grade or rating.
In addition to former Pi Gamma Mu presidents Charles Abram Ellwood, S. Howard Patterson and W. Leon Godshall, prominent members of the Society include former U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson
, 1956 Nobel Prize
winner and former Canadian prime minister Lester B. Pearson
, former Philippine presidents José P. Laurel
and Ferdinand Marcos
, Panama Canal Treaty negotiator and former Panama
president Ricardo Joaquín Alfaro Jované
, leading anthropologist Margaret Mead
, sociologist Pitirim Sorokin
(Pi Gamma Mu national vice-president, 1937–1941) who founded Harvard University's sociology department, Edward A. Ross, a major figure in early criminology
, Ernst Philip Boas
, famous cardiologist and inventor of the cardiotachometer and original proponent of national health insurance, Jane Addams
,1931 Nobel Prize
winner and pioneer community worker, MIT economist Charles P. Kindleberger
, architect of the Marshall Plan
, incumbent US Senator Chuck Grassley
of Iowa
, incumbent Colorado Congresswoman Diana DeGette
, deputy whip of the U.S. House of Representatives, groundbreaking experimental psychologist and incumbent Rockefeller Foundation
president Judith Rodin
- the first female president of an Ivy League university (University of Pennsylvania
), incumbent commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission
Michael Copps
, incumbent Philippine Senators Edgardo Angara
, Pia Cayetano, Miriam Defensor Santiago and Juan Ponce Enrile
, internationally recognized constitutionalist Henry J. Abraham, incumbent North Carolina Supreme Court senior justice Mark Martin
, prominent California lawyer and former U.S. Attorney General William French Smith
, banker, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and Ambassador to NATO David M. Kennedy
, 1971 Economics Nobel
Prize winner Simon Kuznets
, historian and 1949 Pulitzer Prize
winner Roy Nichols
, and Paul Finkelstein, incumbent Board Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Regis Corporation
, the worldwide leader in the hair salon industry.
Former U.S. Transportation Secretary William Thaddeus Coleman, Jr.
, who was inducted into the University of Pennsylvania
chapter in 1941, wrote the legal brief which won the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education
(1954) outlawing racial segregation in public education.
Another Pi Gamma Mu member, U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd
, the pioneering American polar explorer and famous aviator, served for a time as Honorary National President (1931–1935) of Pi Gamma Mu. In 1928, Byrd carried the Society's flag during a historic expedition to the Antarctic
to dramatize the spirit of adventure into the unknown, characterizing both the natural and social sciences.
Outstanding chapters of the Society are eligible to receive the Roll of Distinction, Roll of Merit and the Joseph B. James Chapter Incentive awards on a purely competitive basis. The Roll of Distinction is given to chapters based on their activity and effectiveness on their respective campuses as well as efficiency of operations during a school year. Local initiative in developing new activities or methods of operation is especially noted. The annual Roll of Merit is given as a form of honorable mention based on the same criteria. The Joseph B. James Chapter Incentive Award, named after a long-time president (1963–1971) of the Society, is presented every three years to reward the performance of a new or newly reactivated chapter, which substantially increases its focus on one or more areas, such as membership or activities. Each of the three listed chapter awards are conferred by the Board of Trustees after assessing the annual chapter reports with focus on their service, service projects, procedures and yearly activities.
The Guest Lectureship Program of Pi Gamma Mu exists for the purpose of advancing social science interaction and serves as a memorial to deceased officers of the Society. Active chapters are eligible to apply for lectureship funds of $300.00 each year to cover the honoraria of guest lecturers. The topic of the lecture must be related to one or more of the fields within the scope of Pi Gamma Mu as defined by its constitution. The lecturer should have special qualifications and must be a guest, not a member, of the local faculty, administration or staff of a sheltering college or university.
The Pi Gamma Mu Newsletter was first published in 1978. It reaches members six times a year and contains pictures and news of the programs and activities of the international society and its chapters. Reports of trustee meetings and conventions are included as well as announcements and items of interest. Contributions for the Newsletter go to headquarters operations.
The motto of the Society is the epigram of the Master Teacher, “Cognoscetis veritatem et veritas vos liberabit” (Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free). It is traditionally recited during the initiation ceremonies for new members.
Key
The Society’s gold key (shown above) has a wreath at the bottom to suggest that social science is the outgrowth and fulfillment of natural science
. The running figure is reminiscent of the ancient Greek torch race and symbolizes humanity bringing knowledge to the solution of its own problems and passing on the light from generation to generation. The detail of the Greek torch is illustrated below. In the key are engraved the Greek letters Pi Gamma Mu and 1924, its founding year.
Colors
The official colors are royal blue and white - for truth and light. These are also the colors of the candles used during the initiation ceremonies and the honor cords or stoles worn at graduation (also shown above).
Flower
The official flower is the blue and white cineraria
.
Flag
The redesigned blue flag (shown above) depicts a man and a woman jointly holding the torch of knowledge within the symbolic gold key and wreath of Pi Gamma Mu.
Ritual
An official ritual, for the most part dating back to 1925, has been adopted for optional use in initiating new members (photo), inaugurating officers, and installing new chapters.
The Seven Ideals
Part of the initiation and installation rituals is the declaration of the seven ideals of Pi Gamma Mu: Scholarship, Science, Social Science, Social Idealism, Sociability, Social Service, and Sacrifice.
Members of the Board of Trustees are elected by the chapters for three-year terms to coincide with each triennium. The President of the Society provides leadership to the board and executes the policies of the convention and the board. There is a vice-president for chapter development and another one for scholarships and awards. Four chancellors oversee regions made up of several provinces. Regional chancellors assume responsibility for liaison between the international organization and the chapters in their respective regions. The provinces are headed by governors who lend support and assistance to the collegiate chapters under their jurisdiction. As the situation warrants, the President shall appoint governors and vice-chancellors who hold office for three years or until their successors are chosen.
Each chapter, under the direction of faculty sponsors and elected student officers, plans its own programs and specific areas of service. Chapters bear the names of their respective states along with a Greek letter denoting their order of precedence within each state as determined by the charter date. Hence, the chapter at the University of Wyoming
(founded in 1924 by Dr. Hebard) is officially known as the Wyoming
Alpha Chapter, being the first to be chartered in that state.
The Pi Gamma Mu international headquarters have always been located in Winfield, Kansas, its birthplace. It presently occupies the Carnegie Building, which is on the National Register of Historic Buildings. The executive director of the Society serves as ex officio member of the governing board and oversees its day-to-day operations.
Arkansas Delta Chapter - Southern Arkansas University
Connecticut Alpha Chapter - Trinity College
Florida Eta Chapter - University of South Florida
Georgia Kappa Chapter - North Georgia College & State University
Hawaii Beta Chapter - Hawaii Pacific University
Indiana Gamma - Ball State University
Kansas Alpha Chapter - Southwestern College
Kuwait Alpha Chapter - American University of Kuwait
Maryland Gamma Chapter - Salisbury University
Nebraska Alpha Chapter - University of Nebraska at Omaha
Nebraska Delta Chapter - Wayne State College
North Carolina Alpha Chapter - Elon University
North Carolina Lambda Chapter - Western Carolina University
Pennsylvania Delta Chapter - University of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Mu Chapter - Franklin & Marshall College
Philippine Alpha Chapter - University of the Philippines
Philippine Beta Chapter - De La Salle University
South Carolina Theta Chapter - University of South Carolina Aiken
Texas Phi Chapter - Texas A&M University
Virginia Alpha Chapter - The College of William & Mary
Washington D.C. Alpha Chapter - The Catholic University of America
(ACHS), on whose council it has a representative.
It is also affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science
(AAAS), which classifies Pi Gamma Mu as a constituent organization of Section K--Social, Economic, and Political Sciences. As an affiliate organization, Pi Gamma Mu is entitled to representation by two delegates during the meetings of the AAAS.
Honor society
In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America...
in the social sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
. It is also the only interdisciplinary social science honor society. It serves the various social science disciplines which seek to understand and explain human behavior and social relationships as well as their concomitant problems and issues. Pi Gamma Mu's constitution defines the social sciences to include the disciplines of history, political science, sociology, anthropology, economics, psychology, international relations, criminal justice, social work, social philosophy, history of education, and human geography. Membership is also extended to interdisciplinary social science fields that build on the core social science disciplines, such as business administration, education, cultural and area studies, public administration, and organizational behavior.
The mission of Pi Gamma Mu is to encourage and recognize superior scholarship in social science disciplines and to foster cooperation and social service among its members.
History
In 1924, Dr. Leroy Allen, dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Southwestern CollegeSouthwestern College (Kansas)
Southwestern College is a four-year private college affiliated with the United Methodist Church located in Winfield, Kansas, United States. It was founded in 1885 and graduated its first class in 1889. In addition to its campus programs, it offers online programs.-Academics:The main campus is a...
in Winfield
Winfield, Kansas
Winfield is a city situated along the Walnut River in the west-central part of Cowley County, located in South Central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,301...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
and Dr. William Angus Hamilton, dean of both the Law School and School of Business Administration
Mason School of Business
The Mason School of Business is the business school at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. The school, named after alumni and founder of Legg Mason, Raymond A. "Chip" Mason, in 2005, was ranked in the top 20 MBA programs in 2007 and the top 10 undergraduate programs among public universities...
at The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
established an honor society to promote academic excellence and achieve "integration and humanization" in the social sciences. The early 1900s witnessed the autonomous development of the younger social science fields, including social work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
, international relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
and criminal justice
Criminal justice
Criminal Justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts...
. Of greater concern among some of the leading scholars of the time was what they saw as the increasing tendency toward "sheer quantification" and "mensuration" in the traditional social science disciplines. The founders of the new honor society believed that "if the social sciences are to render any adequate service to humanity, factionalism, separatism and dehumanization in them must be overcome."
The honor society was named Pi Gamma Mu from the initials of the three Greek words that describe the Society's objective: Politixes Gnōseōs Mathetai (Πολιτικές Γνώσεως Μάθεται), the study of political and social science. The term Politixes or "political science or phenomena" encompassed the field of economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, which was then commonly referred to as political economy
Political economy
Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
, its original name. Pi Gamma Mu stood not only for scholarship in the social sciences, but also for synthesis and cooperation among its various branches. It was an early advocate of an interdisciplinary as well as a cross-disciplinary approach to the study of social problems.
In Dean Allen, Pi Gamma Mu had a creative visionary and in Dean Hamilton a highly respected leader who was also described as "an authority on fraternal organizations and a leader in fraternal circles." By November 1924, the founding members led by Dean Allen and Dean Hamilton had drafted a constitution for the Society and issued charters to the first 17 chapters, mostly private, liberal arts colleges and universities led by Southwestern College and the College of William and Mary. The next year, the first issue of the Society's official journal, Social Science (subtitled "For the scientific study of social problems"), was published and distributed to its members. The journal's stated objectives were "the promotion of the social sciences in college curricula" and "the integration of the social sciences in the education of students." The Society was formally incorporated as a non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
in the state of Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
in 1929 under the name "The National Social Science Honor Society, Pi Gamma Mu, Inc".
After Dr. Hamilton died in 1929, much of the groundwork for the new Society had to be laid by Dr. Allen who served as its first national president (1924–1931) and then national secretary (1931–1947). Pi Gamma Mu had for its succeeding presidents several distinguished social scientists, including the noted sociologist and American Sociological Association president Charles Abram Ellwood of Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, co-founder of the Society and its president from 1931 to 1937, Dr. S. Howard Patterson (president, 1937–1951), a renowned microeconomist who was then professor of economics at the Wharton School
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
The Wharton School is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wharton was the world’s first collegiate business school and the first business school in the United States...
of the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
and author of several classic textbooks in the field, and political scientist W. Leon Godshall of Lehigh University
Lehigh University
Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...
, the Society's president from 1951 until his untimely death in 1956 and under whose initiative the founding of foreign chapters was authorized.
At a time when very few women held leadership positions anywhere, Pi Gamma Mu elected Grace Raymond Hebard
Grace Raymond Hebard
Grace Raymond Hebard gained prominence as a Wyoming historian, suffragist, pioneering scholar, prolific writer, political economist and noted University of Wyoming educator. Hebard's standing as a historian in part rose from her years trekking Wyoming's high plains and mountains seeking first-hand...
, one of its founders, as national vice-president (1924–1931). Then the foremost historian of the Native Americans, Dr. Hebard was also a civil engineer, surveyor, bibliography scholar, head of the University of Wyoming
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...
's political economy department and a leader in the women's suffrage movement in the United States.
The late 1920s and 1930s was a period of heightened growth for Pi Gamma Mu. Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
was the first large university to establish a chapter (1925) of the Society. The University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
chapter was the first to be organized outside of the continental United States. In 1932, the first foreign chapter was chartered at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Later that year, a chapter was also installed at the University of the Philippines
University of the Philippines
The ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...
; a second Philippine chapter was organized at De La Salle University
De La Salle University
De La Salle University is a private Lasallian university in Malate, Manila, Philippines. It was founded in 1911 by De La Salle Brothers as the De La Salle College in Paco, Manila with Blimond Pierre serving as its first director...
in 1989. In 1955, the trustees of Pi Gamma Mu voted to grant a charter to the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico
The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico is a Roman Catholic university located in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It provides courses in the areas of education, business administration, arts and human studies and science, leading to Bachelor's, Master's and Doctorate Degrees. Its campus is also home...
. In 2007, the Kuwait Alpha at the American University of Kuwait
American University of Kuwait
The American University of Kuwait is a private liberal arts institution based on the American model of higher education in Kuwait City, Kuwait. Although established in 2003, the University opened to students, faculty and the general public in September 2004. It is sister colleges with Dartmouth...
became Pi Gamma Mu's newest international chapter.
To acknowledge its chapters outside of the United States, the Board of Trustees took action in 1980 to change the name of the Society to "Pi Gamma Mu, International Honor Society in Social Sciences". In 1982, the name of its official journal was also changed to International Social Science Review. In 1991 to enhance its international scope, the trustees approved the conferring of affiliate (or associate member) status on visiting fellows and exchange students who demonstrate academic excellence in their fields but are not otherwise expected to complete their degree programs at a Pi Gamma Mu sheltering college or university. The same international emphasis continued as the Philippines Alpha chapter commemorated its 75th Anniversary on March 7, 2007. The unique influence of the Philippines Alpha chapter is recorded in Scott Johnston’s work, Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society in Social Science First 75 Years: “Again the quality of the people elected to the Philippines Alpha chapter has been most impressive. They have included two Presidents of the Republic, two Prime Ministers, a dozen Supreme Court Justices, and two dozen Cabinet members. Concerning the University of the Philippines itself, there have been six Presidents, a dozen Vice Chancellors and dozens upon dozens of Deans of the University.”
In 1996, Kay Anderson, professor of social work at University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
The University of Mary Hardin–Baylor, generally referred to as UMHB, is a Christian co-educational liberal arts institution of higher learning located in Belton, Texas, United States. Founded by the Republic of Texas in 1845 as "Baylor Female College," it has grown to approximately 2,700 students...
in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, became the first female president (1996–2002) of the Society.
Pi Gamma Mu currently has active chapters in over 150 colleges and universities. Its total elected members number over 234,000. Dr. Gordon Mercer, professor of political science and director of the Public Policy Institute at Western Carolina University
Western Carolina University
Western Carolina University is a coeducational public university located in Cullowhee, North Carolina, United States. The university is a constituent campus of the University of North Carolina system....
, currently serves as president of the Society.
Election to membership
Membership in the Society comes only through election by a college-based or university-based chapter. An individual is traditionally invited or may petition to join an active collegiate chapter of Pi Gamma Mu when he/she is a junior, senior or graduate student, belonging to the upper one-third of the class, with at least 20 semester hours in social science courses, no failed grades, an overall average grade of "B" or better and of good moral character. Chapters may increase these minimum standards for election to life membership. Faculty and administrators can also be elected to membership by a collegiate chapter.Newly initiated members receive an engraved membership certificate, a membership card, the Society key or pin, and one-year subscription to its official journal and newsletter. A one-time induction fee covers these and the privilege of lifetime membership in Pi Gamma Mu, including participation in its various activities, attendance at scholarly meetings, and eligibility to compete for graduate fellowships. Membership in Pi Gamma Mu can also advance a federal employee's civil service position grade or rating.
Famous members
Throughout its 83 years of existence, the international social sciences honor society of Pi Gamma Mu has produced many well-known scholars, diplomats, political leaders, business leaders and pioneering professionals. The list is not exhaustive and is simply intended to illustrate the breadth of scholarship and service of the Society's members.In addition to former Pi Gamma Mu presidents Charles Abram Ellwood, S. Howard Patterson and W. Leon Godshall, prominent members of the Society include former U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
, 1956 Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
winner and former Canadian prime minister Lester B. Pearson
Lester B. Pearson
Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson, PC, OM, CC, OBE was a Canadian professor, historian, civil servant, statesman, diplomat, and politician, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for organizing the United Nations Emergency Force to resolve the Suez Canal Crisis...
, former Philippine presidents José P. Laurel
Jose P. Laurel
José Paciano Laurel y García was the president of the Republic of the Philippines, a Japanese-sponsored administration during World War II, from 1943 to 1945...
and Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...
, Panama Canal Treaty negotiator and former Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
president Ricardo Joaquín Alfaro Jované
Ricardo Joaquín Alfaro Jované
Ricardo Joaquín Alfaro Jované , served as president of Panama from January 16, 1931 to June 5, 1932. He belonged to the Liberal Party....
, leading anthropologist Margaret Mead
Margaret Mead
Margaret Mead was an American cultural anthropologist, who was frequently a featured writer and speaker in the mass media throughout the 1960s and 1970s....
, sociologist Pitirim Sorokin
Pitirim Sorokin
Pitirim Alexandrovich Sorokin was a Russian-American sociologist born in Komi . Academic and political activist in Russia, he emigrated from Russia to the United States in 1923. He founded the Department of Sociology at Harvard University. He was a vocal opponent of Talcott Parsons' theories...
(Pi Gamma Mu national vice-president, 1937–1941) who founded Harvard University's sociology department, Edward A. Ross, a major figure in early criminology
Criminology
Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society...
, Ernst Philip Boas
Ernst Philip Boas
Ernst Philip Boas was an American physician. He is a pioneer in the fields of pathology and physiology and was a highly respected expert in chronic diseases of the heart...
, famous cardiologist and inventor of the cardiotachometer and original proponent of national health insurance, Jane Addams
Jane Addams
Jane Addams was a pioneer settlement worker, founder of Hull House in Chicago, public philosopher, sociologist, author, and leader in woman suffrage and world peace...
,1931 Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
winner and pioneer community worker, MIT economist Charles P. Kindleberger
Charles P. Kindleberger
Charles Poor "Charlie" Kindleberger was a historical economist and author of over 30 books. His 1978 book Manias, Panics, and Crashes, about speculative stock market bubbles, was reprinted in 2000 after the dot-com bubble. He is well known for hegemonic stability theory.-Life:Kindleberger was born...
, architect of the Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...
, incumbent US Senator Chuck Grassley
Chuck Grassley
Charles Ernest "Chuck" Grassley is the senior United States Senator from Iowa . A member of Republican Party, he previously served in the served in the United States House of Representatives and the Iowa state legislature...
of Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, incumbent Colorado Congresswoman Diana DeGette
Diana DeGette
Diana Louise DeGette is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997, and a Chief Deputy Whip. She is a member of the Democratic Party.The district is based in Denver.-Early life, education and career:...
, deputy whip of the U.S. House of Representatives, groundbreaking experimental psychologist and incumbent Rockefeller Foundation
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
president Judith Rodin
Judith Rodin
Judith Rodin was the 7th president of the University of Pennsylvania from 1994 to 2004 and the first permanent female president of an Ivy League university. She is currently the president of the Rockefeller Foundation, a position she has held since 2005. A University of Pennsylvania alumna, she...
- the first female president of an Ivy League university (University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
), incumbent commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
Michael Copps
Michael Copps
Michael Joseph Copps is a Commissioner on the U.S. Federal Communications Commission , an independent agency of the United States government. He has served as one of the commissioners of the FCC since May 31, 2001, and took on the additional role of acting chairman on January 20, 2009...
, incumbent Philippine Senators Edgardo Angara
Edgardo Angara
Edgardo Javier Angara is a Filipino politician who served as President of the Senate of the Philippines from 1993-1995. He is currently serving his fourth term in the Senate which ends in 2013.-Early life and career:...
, Pia Cayetano, Miriam Defensor Santiago and Juan Ponce Enrile
Juan Ponce Enrile
Juan Ponce Enrile is a Filipino politician. As a protege of President Ferdinand Marcos, he served as Justice Secretary and then Defense Secretary under the Marcos regime. He later became one of the leaders of the 1986 People Power Movement that drove Marcos from power...
, internationally recognized constitutionalist Henry J. Abraham, incumbent North Carolina Supreme Court senior justice Mark Martin
Mark Martin (judge)
Mark D. Martin is the Senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina. With over fifteen years of service in the North Carolina judiciary, Martin is the only active member of the state judiciary with experience on the Supreme Court of North Carolina, the North Carolina Court of...
, prominent California lawyer and former U.S. Attorney General William French Smith
William French Smith
William French Smith was an American lawyer and the 74th Attorney General of the United States.-Biography:...
, banker, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and Ambassador to NATO David M. Kennedy
David M. Kennedy
David Matthew Kennedy was an American businessman, economist and Cabinet secretary.Born in Randolph, Utah, he attended public school and graduated from Weber College, then a Mormon college, in 1928. He served a two-year mission, for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to England...
, 1971 Economics Nobel
Prize winner Simon Kuznets
Simon Kuznets
Simon Smith Kuznets was a Russian American economist at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania who won the 1971 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences "for his empirically founded interpretation of economic growth which has led to new and deepened insight into the economic and...
, historian and 1949 Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winner Roy Nichols
Roy Nichols
Roy Nichols was an American country music guitarist best known as the lead guitarist for Merle Haggard for more than two decades. He was known for his guitar technique, a mix of fingerpicking and pedal steel-like bends, usually played on a Telecaster.-Biography:Roy Ernest Nichols was born in...
, and Paul Finkelstein, incumbent Board Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Regis Corporation
Regis Corporation
Regis Corporation is the largest hair salon chain in the world, with over 11,000 salons , it is ranked 712 on the Fortune 1000...
, the worldwide leader in the hair salon industry.
Former U.S. Transportation Secretary William Thaddeus Coleman, Jr.
William Thaddeus Coleman, Jr.
William Thaddeus Coleman, Jr. was the fourth United States Secretary of Transportation, from March 7, 1975 to January 20, 1977, and the second African American to serve in the Cabinet...
, who was inducted into the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
chapter in 1941, wrote the legal brief which won the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
(1954) outlawing racial segregation in public education.
Another Pi Gamma Mu member, U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd
Richard Evelyn Byrd
Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, Jr., USN was a naval officer who specialized in feats of exploration. He was a pioneering American aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics...
, the pioneering American polar explorer and famous aviator, served for a time as Honorary National President (1931–1935) of Pi Gamma Mu. In 1928, Byrd carried the Society's flag during a historic expedition to the Antarctic
Antarctic
The Antarctic is the region around the Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence...
to dramatize the spirit of adventure into the unknown, characterizing both the natural and social sciences.
Awards and scholarships
Pi Gamma Mu provides four named scholarships which carry stipends of $2000 and scholarships of $1,000 for one year of graduate study. These are awarded to selected members annually. Any member of the Society is eligible to apply as a graduating senior or as a prospective graduate student.Outstanding chapters of the Society are eligible to receive the Roll of Distinction, Roll of Merit and the Joseph B. James Chapter Incentive awards on a purely competitive basis. The Roll of Distinction is given to chapters based on their activity and effectiveness on their respective campuses as well as efficiency of operations during a school year. Local initiative in developing new activities or methods of operation is especially noted. The annual Roll of Merit is given as a form of honorable mention based on the same criteria. The Joseph B. James Chapter Incentive Award, named after a long-time president (1963–1971) of the Society, is presented every three years to reward the performance of a new or newly reactivated chapter, which substantially increases its focus on one or more areas, such as membership or activities. Each of the three listed chapter awards are conferred by the Board of Trustees after assessing the annual chapter reports with focus on their service, service projects, procedures and yearly activities.
The Guest Lectureship Program of Pi Gamma Mu exists for the purpose of advancing social science interaction and serves as a memorial to deceased officers of the Society. Active chapters are eligible to apply for lectureship funds of $300.00 each year to cover the honoraria of guest lecturers. The topic of the lecture must be related to one or more of the fields within the scope of Pi Gamma Mu as defined by its constitution. The lecturer should have special qualifications and must be a guest, not a member, of the local faculty, administration or staff of a sheltering college or university.
Publications
Membership in Pi Gamma Mu also serves as a valued opportunity to publish in a scholarly journal. International Social Science Review is a juried and indexed social science interdisciplinary journal which is sent to all new members of Pi Gamma Mu for one year. Annual subscriptions to this journal are available to any individual or institution. Social scientists in the United States and abroad contribute articles and book reviews to the publication. Pi Gamma Mu members are encouraged to submit manuscripts to be considered for publication.The Pi Gamma Mu Newsletter was first published in 1978. It reaches members six times a year and contains pictures and news of the programs and activities of the international society and its chapters. Reports of trustee meetings and conventions are included as well as announcements and items of interest. Contributions for the Newsletter go to headquarters operations.
Symbols and ideals
MottoThe motto of the Society is the epigram of the Master Teacher, “Cognoscetis veritatem et veritas vos liberabit” (Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free). It is traditionally recited during the initiation ceremonies for new members.
Key
The Society’s gold key (shown above) has a wreath at the bottom to suggest that social science is the outgrowth and fulfillment of natural science
Natural science
The natural sciences are branches of science that seek to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world by using empirical and scientific methods...
. The running figure is reminiscent of the ancient Greek torch race and symbolizes humanity bringing knowledge to the solution of its own problems and passing on the light from generation to generation. The detail of the Greek torch is illustrated below. In the key are engraved the Greek letters Pi Gamma Mu and 1924, its founding year.
Colors
The official colors are royal blue and white - for truth and light. These are also the colors of the candles used during the initiation ceremonies and the honor cords or stoles worn at graduation (also shown above).
Flower
The official flower is the blue and white cineraria
Cineraria
Cineraria is now generally treated as a genus of about 50 species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to southern Africa...
.
Flag
The redesigned blue flag (shown above) depicts a man and a woman jointly holding the torch of knowledge within the symbolic gold key and wreath of Pi Gamma Mu.
Ritual
An official ritual, for the most part dating back to 1925, has been adopted for optional use in initiating new members (photo), inaugurating officers, and installing new chapters.
The Seven Ideals
Part of the initiation and installation rituals is the declaration of the seven ideals of Pi Gamma Mu: Scholarship, Science, Social Science, Social Idealism, Sociability, Social Service, and Sacrifice.
Governance
The present constitution of the Society provides for triennial conventions, with each chapter eligible to send a delegation. The convention is vested with the supreme authority of the Society. During the convention, delegates elect two student representatives to the Board of Trustees, which exercises administrative power between conventions.Members of the Board of Trustees are elected by the chapters for three-year terms to coincide with each triennium. The President of the Society provides leadership to the board and executes the policies of the convention and the board. There is a vice-president for chapter development and another one for scholarships and awards. Four chancellors oversee regions made up of several provinces. Regional chancellors assume responsibility for liaison between the international organization and the chapters in their respective regions. The provinces are headed by governors who lend support and assistance to the collegiate chapters under their jurisdiction. As the situation warrants, the President shall appoint governors and vice-chancellors who hold office for three years or until their successors are chosen.
Each chapter, under the direction of faculty sponsors and elected student officers, plans its own programs and specific areas of service. Chapters bear the names of their respective states along with a Greek letter denoting their order of precedence within each state as determined by the charter date. Hence, the chapter at the University of Wyoming
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...
(founded in 1924 by Dr. Hebard) is officially known as the Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
Alpha Chapter, being the first to be chartered in that state.
The Pi Gamma Mu international headquarters have always been located in Winfield, Kansas, its birthplace. It presently occupies the Carnegie Building, which is on the National Register of Historic Buildings. The executive director of the Society serves as ex officio member of the governing board and oversees its day-to-day operations.
Chapters
The following are some of the largest chapters of Pi Gamma Mu, which initiate at least 50 members each year:Arkansas Delta Chapter - Southern Arkansas University
Southern Arkansas University
Southern Arkansas University is a public four-year institution located in Magnolia, the seat of Columbia County in Arkansas, United States, not far from the Louisiana state line.-Location:Southern Arkansas University is located in Magnolia, which, as of the census...
Connecticut Alpha Chapter - Trinity College
Trinity College (Connecticut)
Trinity College is a private, liberal arts college in Hartford, Connecticut. Founded in 1823, it is the second-oldest college in the state of Connecticut after Yale University. The college enrolls 2,300 students and has been coeducational since 1969. Trinity offers 38 majors and 26 minors, and has...
Florida Eta Chapter - University of South Florida
University of South Florida
The University of South Florida, also known as USF, is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, one of the state's three flagship universities for public research, and is located in Tampa, Florida, USA...
Georgia Kappa Chapter - North Georgia College & State University
Hawaii Beta Chapter - Hawaii Pacific University
Hawaii Pacific University
Hawaii Pacific University, also known as HPU, is a private, Nonsectarian, coeducational university located in Honolulu, Hawaii and Kaneohe, Hawaii. HPU founded in 1965 as Hawaii Pacific College by Paul C.T. Loo, Eureka Forbes, Elizabeth W...
Indiana Gamma - Ball State University
Ball State University
Ball State University is a state-run research university located in Muncie, Indiana. It is also known as Ball State or simply BSU.Located on the northwest side of the city, Ball State's campus spans and includes 106 buildings...
Kansas Alpha Chapter - Southwestern College
Southwestern College (Kansas)
Southwestern College is a four-year private college affiliated with the United Methodist Church located in Winfield, Kansas, United States. It was founded in 1885 and graduated its first class in 1889. In addition to its campus programs, it offers online programs.-Academics:The main campus is a...
Kuwait Alpha Chapter - American University of Kuwait
American University of Kuwait
The American University of Kuwait is a private liberal arts institution based on the American model of higher education in Kuwait City, Kuwait. Although established in 2003, the University opened to students, faculty and the general public in September 2004. It is sister colleges with Dartmouth...
Maryland Gamma Chapter - Salisbury University
Salisbury University
Salisbury University is a public university in Salisbury, Maryland.According to U.S. News and World Report's 2009 America's Best Colleges index, "In guidebooks and surveys by U.S...
Nebraska Alpha Chapter - University of Nebraska at Omaha
University of Nebraska at Omaha
The University of Nebraska at Omaha is a four-year state university located in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. Founded in 1908 as Omaha University, the institution became the public Municipal University of Omaha in 1931. It assumed its current name in 1968 following a merger into the University...
Nebraska Delta Chapter - Wayne State College
Wayne State College
Wayne State College is a four-year public college in the Nebraska State College System in Wayne, Nebraska. The current enrollment is 3,571. The college opened as a State Normal School in 1910 after the State purchased the private Nebraska Normal College . The State Normal College became State...
North Carolina Alpha Chapter - Elon University
Elon University
Elon University is a private liberal arts university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Formerly known as Elon College, it became Elon University on June 1, 2001. The campus is a botanical garden and features oak trees, brick sidewalks, fountains, and lakes...
North Carolina Lambda Chapter - Western Carolina University
Western Carolina University
Western Carolina University is a coeducational public university located in Cullowhee, North Carolina, United States. The university is a constituent campus of the University of North Carolina system....
Pennsylvania Delta Chapter - University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
Pennsylvania Mu Chapter - Franklin & Marshall College
Franklin & Marshall College
Franklin & Marshall College is a four-year private co-educational residential national liberal arts college in the Northwest Corridor neighborhood of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States....
Philippine Alpha Chapter - University of the Philippines
University of the Philippines
The ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...
Philippine Beta Chapter - De La Salle University
De La Salle University
De La Salle University is a private Lasallian university in Malate, Manila, Philippines. It was founded in 1911 by De La Salle Brothers as the De La Salle College in Paco, Manila with Blimond Pierre serving as its first director...
South Carolina Theta Chapter - University of South Carolina Aiken
University of South Carolina Aiken
The University of South Carolina Aiken is a four-year, public coeducational university in Aiken, South Carolina. The school offers undergraduate degree programs as well as master's degrees in elementary education, educational technology and applied clinical psychology...
Texas Phi Chapter - Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
Virginia Alpha Chapter - The College of William & Mary
Washington D.C. Alpha Chapter - The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America is a private university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops...
Institutional affiliations
Pi Gamma Mu is a member of the Association of College Honor SocietiesAssociation of College Honor Societies
The Association of College Honor Societies , founded in 1925, is a predominantly American organization that serves a number of functions with respect to national collegiate and post-graduate honor societies...
(ACHS), on whose council it has a representative.
It is also affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
(AAAS), which classifies Pi Gamma Mu as a constituent organization of Section K--Social, Economic, and Political Sciences. As an affiliate organization, Pi Gamma Mu is entitled to representation by two delegates during the meetings of the AAAS.