March 20, 2019

A new Sigma Xi chapter was formed on March 7 at Austin College, a private college dedicated to educating undergraduate students in the liberal arts and sciences and located in Sherman, Texas. Chapter President Lance Barton, a professor in the college's biology department and director of the Center for Research, Experiential, Artistic, and Transformative Education,  shares what led the group to form a chapter. 

Why did your group want to start the Austin College Chapter?

Our faculty have been operating as an ad hoc committee for over 10 years. We have been nominating students every year, presenting an on-campus award for a student who exemplifies learning through research (the Undergraduate Scientific Research Award) and helping to recognize students at our annual research conference, the Austin College Student Scholarship Conference. Our new members, however, have not been recognized at our annual honors convocation because we did not have a chapter. We were also limited in what we can do without a chapter designation, budget, etc.

What are the short-term and long-term goals for the chapter? 

The short-term goals are to help bring awareness to the work we have been doing for over a decade and to get better recognition for our students. We want to take advantage of the opportunities afforded us with chapter status for distinguished lectureships and participation in Society-wide events. Long-term, we want to provide further encouragement for our students who dedicate semesters of time to research projects and help shape a culture on our campus where those efforts are recognized like other areas.

How many members have been inducted so far?

We have nominated 68 members to at-large membership over the past 13 years. This includes 15–20 active members who will affiliate with our chapter and we inducted three new members this year.

What happened at the installation ceremony?

We received our charter and formally installed the chapter. Dr. Alli Antar from Baylor College of Medicine was our installing officer. We elected our new officers, recognized new member nominees, and presented the Undergraduate Scientific Research Award for 2019.  We then had a casual luncheon, shared stories, celebrated and encouraged students, and talked research and Sigma Xi generally.