Franklin College’s Alpha Society is the top academic honor society on campus. This year marked the 102^nd celebration of the society. The group recently inducted 17 students and one faculty/staff member in a ceremony held on campus.

Established in 1922, Alpha Society promotes and celebrates scholarship at the undergraduate level. Those eligible for membership include students who hold a GPA of no less than 3.50 (on a 4.0 scale). Alpha Society admits students across the college’s academic disciplines, but membership is limited to the top 10 percent of the college’s junior and senior classes.

The induction ceremony was led by Meredith Clark-Wiltz, Ph.D., professor of history and director of American studies. She also holds the Hon. Roger D. Branigin Chair in History at Franklin College. She delivered the keynote speech: “Guiding Legacies: Supporting Undergraduate Research to Collect, Archive, and Preserve Diverse Perspectives of Campus Citizens.” Dr. Clark-Wiltz told the story of two interrelated and overlapping grant projects that supported student archival research and oral history interviews that generated successful outcomes for the students, the college, community partners and the community. Many family members and friends of the inductees were in attendance for the ceremony.  

Students inducted into the society include:

Elliot Davidson, a biology major and mathematics and digital fluency endorsement minor, from Zionsville.

Jacob Glover, a biology major and professional writing minor, from Mooresville.

Aaran Greenwell, a biomedical sciences major and fitness minor, from Beech Grove.

John Hasquin, an exercise science major and fitness minor, from Greenwood.

Jadyn List, a music major and theatre minor, from Newburgh.

Josie Lyons, a history and theatre major and Spanish minor, from Coatesville.

Benjamin H. Marten, a biology and biomedical science major, from Franklin.

Abby E. Moore, an English major and professional writing minor, from Camby.

Emma Moore, an elementary education major and history minor, from Camby.

Morgan Louise Nelson, a biomedical science major and psychology minor, from Marion.

Samantha Schick, a biology and pre-veterinary medicine major and chemistry and Spanish minor, from Indianapolis.

Robert Thomas Shrader, a chemistry major and biology minor, from Indianapolis.

Noah Sigler, an exercise science major and fitness minor, from Avon.

Zayne Waterford Spangler, a sports communication major and business minor, from Martinsville.

Christian Blake Talbert, a data science and computer science major, from Nineveh.

Grace Williams, an elementary education major, from Indianapolis.

Kara Woodard, a chemistry major with an industrial graduate school track and a mathematics minor, from Evansville.

Full-time faculty and staff members who are members of Phi Beta Kappa or Sigma Xi, or who achieved summa or magna cum laude academic distinction from their undergraduate institutions are also eligible for membership. Alpha Society inducted the following staff member:

Jill Peffley, associate director of student involvement and Greek life, from Indianapolis.

For more information, contact the Franklin College Office of Communications at (317) 738-8185.

By: Alona Gilpin ’24, Pulliam Fellow

POSTED Jan 5, 2024