PINE BLUFF, Ark.- The University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff Department of Athletics took time this past week to salute several student-athletes that were selected for induction into Chi Alpha Sigma.
In all a total of 20 UAPB student-athletes were inducted into the honor society which consists of student-athletes that achieve at a high level academically.
“Becoming just the second university in the state of Arkansas to be chartered with membership into Chi Alpha Sigma is a tremendous honor and an indication of our commitment to salute our student-athletes for excellence both in the classroom as well as in the athletics arena,” said Lonza Hardy Jr., UAPB's athletics director.
“The 20 students who have earned the distinction of becoming our first inductees into the honor society are to be applauded for being leaders among their peers by amassing cumulative grade point averages of 3.40 or higher. That verifies that they are surely keeping the 'student' in 'student-athlete.'”
2012 University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Chi Alpha Sigma Inductees
Ninfa Barnard Kaitlin Morin
Erika Forbes Nicole Parks-Powell
David Gomez Jamaal Phillips
Hugo Gomez Antonio Richmond
Jarissa Greenard Ryan Savage
Valerie Higareda Stephanie Tubby
Emma Johnson Jasmine Tucker
Austin Keithley Lauren Valecillos
Heather Leigh Jorge Villacis
Eduardo Luque Cornelius Williams
About Chi Alpha Sigma
The National College Athlete Honor Society, Chi Alpha Sigma, was founded on May 17, 1996 at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. Its founding father was Nick Mourouzis, DePauw's head football coach.
The mission of the NCAHS is to bring honor and recognition to deserving student-athletes, their families, teams, athletics departments and colleges in much the same way as Phi Beta Kappa honors scholastics. The organization recognizes college students who receive a varsity letter in their sport while maintaining a 3.4 or higher cumulative grade point average throughout their junior and senior years. The governing board of the NCAHS represents all levels of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
The Greek letters for the NCAHS are Chi Alpha Sigma. The society's motto is “Excellence in Academics and Athletics.” Its watchwords are “Athletics, Academics, Achievement, Attitude.” Its purposes are as follows:
-
To encourage and reward high academic scholarship of college athletes at four-year accredited colleges and universities;
-
To recognize outstanding academic achievement by intercollegiate varsity sport letter-winners;
-
To encourage good citizenship, moral character and friendship among the high academic achievers in college athletics;
-
To recognize and honor the individual athlete, his/her team, sport, athletics department and college or university; and
-
To mentor and to provide leadership to other students.
On November 30, 2011, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff's petition for membership was approved and UAPB became just the second university in the state to join the NCAHS, earning the distinction of Arkansas Beta Chapter.
