UC Santa Cruz was formally granted its charter Monday as the 366th university chapter of the Golden Key International Honour Society.
Society officials joined Chancellor Blumenthal and Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education Bill Ladusaw in officially establishing the honor society at UCSC.
Blumenthal noted that UCSC is the seventh UC campus with a Golden Key chapter. "Our students deserve it and I know they will bring honor to this honor society," he said in brief remarks after being made an honorary founding member along with professors Raoul Birnbaum, Richard Hughey, Jaye Padgett, and Campus Provost/Executive Vice Chancellor Dave Kliger.
Honor society members are recruited by invitation in their sophomore, junior, or senior year based on scholarship, if they are in the top 15 percent of their class. There is a $70 annual membership fee. As of the December 8 deadline, 182 UCSC students had joined.
The honor society, founded in 1977, now has chapters in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates, and South Africa. Last year, it gave out $500,000 in scholarships to its members, said Colleen Ware, Golden Key's associate director of university relations. Ten to 12 percent of applicants were successful in obtaining a scholarship of up to $10,000, she said.
Chapter officers at UCSC are Andrew Cichowski, president; Lonny Jones, vice president; and Elizabeth Locatelli, secretary.
. Announcement story (November 4, 2008)
