Trinity Western University is pleased to announce the launch of its Chapter of Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology. Under the leadership of long-time Associate Professor of Psychology Chuck Macknee, Ph.D., TWU’s new Psi Chi Chapter—the third in Canada, following the University of Victoria and the University of British Columbia—was installed on October 7, 2014. In all, 15 TWU students were inducted into Psi Chi membership.
“Psi Chi at Trinity Western University will offer our dedicated and exemplary psychology students opportunities to enrich their scholarship, personalize their education and mentoring, and continue to improve people’s lives through making significant contributions to the discipline,” said Macknee. “The goals of this Honor Society include empathic understanding, logical thinking and critical open-mindedness, and line up well with TWU’s Psychology Department.”
Founded in 1929, Psi Chi was established to encourage, stimulate, and maintain excellence in scholarship, and to advance the science of psychology. Many of the Society’s members have gone on to distinguished psychology careers, including several presidents of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the American Psychological Society (APS), national and international award winners, and other renowned research psychologists, authors, professors, and practitioners.
A member of the Association of College Honor Societies, Psi Chi is an affiliate of both the APA and the APS. Over its 85-year history, Psi Chi has become one of the largest and most successful honor societies in the world, boasting over 1120 chapters at college and university campuses throughout the US, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Barbados, Egypt, the US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. These chapters not only recognize academic achievement by granting membership in the Society, but also sponsor programs and activities that augment and enhance the regular curriculum, offer an outlet for service to the campus and the community at large, and provide practical experience and fellowship through affiliation with the chapter.
“I’m proud that Trinity Western is one of the few universities in Canada to establish a Psi Chi Chapter,” said fourth-year psychology student and Psi Chi Chapter President Charlenn Skead. “This demonstrates the calibre and excellence of TWU students, and is another manner in which to set ourselves apart. Being part of an internationally-recognized honour society is a recognition of the hard work that my fellow students and I invest in academia.”