JOIN US IN WASHINGTON, D.C., AND EXPERIENCE THE HISTORY OF THIS WONDERFUL NATION

Students, please note: If you have never been to our nation's capital, this is the perfect opportunity. We plan to hold some of our sessions in a meeting room on Capitol Hill. We are looking forward to hearing about our students' research projects. If you are a student considering attending the convention and you want to present a research paper or display a poster, please submit your proposals to the Committee of Readers. The deadline is September 19. As an extra incentive to present a paper, Pi Gamma Mu will pay for one night's lodging if your paper or poster is selected.

You can get all the details from the January 2011 edition of the Pi Gamma Mu Newsletter.

NOTES FROM THE PRESIDENT

Efforts to Organize and Coordinate Events and Projects Test Our Communication Skills

GRADUATION HONOR CORDS

With graduation coming up soon, don’t forget to order your honor cords. These attractive royal- blue and white double cords with blue tassels are made especially for Pi Gamma Mu and look very nice with your graduation gown.
Prices are $15 for a set of cords, plus $2.95 for shipping and handling. You can place an order any time by sending the number of cords needed, the money, and the address where they should be mailed, to Pi Gamma Mu, 1001 Millington, Suite B, Winfield, KS 67156. If you prefer, you can call our headquarters (620-221-3128) and give us a credit-card number and we will mail the honor cords to you the same day.

PRESERVING YOUR CHAPTER'S HERITAGE AND LEGACIES

Time was when groups and organizations elected historians to keep track of and record their activities and achievements. How much do you know about the history and traditions of your Pi Gamma Mu chapter? Some chapters have traditions that span the whole 85 years of the organization's existence, while others have only recently been chartered. But whether yours is an older chapter or a recent one, preserving and recording for posterity that history and those traditions are important.

CONVENTION REGISTRATION

On September 1 a convention registration form will be sent to each chapter. Chapters may download additional registration forms here: http://organization.northgeorgia.edu/pigammu/ICONF.pdf

The form, accompanied by a fee of $18 for each registrant, must be returned to headquarters no later than October 3, 2011.

View the CONVENTION AGENDA here

ANNUAL REPORTS ARE ESSENTIAL: IT'S THE LAW!

Chapter sponsors will soon be receiving Annual Report forms. The form is also available on our Web site, for those of you who would like to send it back using the Internet.  The deadline for turning in your chapter’s report is September 1.

Because of the requirements from the Internal Revenue Service (see the article “Pi Gamma Mu Protects Chapters from Uncle Sam”) , it is for essential that sponsors fill out and return their Annual Reports to headquarters promptly.  We will begin filing the IRS Form 990-N e-postcards for our reporting chapters with the IRS in September of each year, but we will not be able to report on behalf of and protect non-reporting chapters!

CHAPTERS IN ACTION

Congratulations to Dr. John Roper, sponsor of the Virginia Delta chapter at Emory & Henry College, for receiving the Excellence in Teaching Award for 2009‑2010.  The awardee was determined by a vote of the college’s student body.

Pi Gamma Mu initiates at Wayne State College

At Western Carolina University, the North Carolina Lambda chapter sponsored a special event on KFSC radio station to cover the 2010 U. S. national election and to evaluate the performance of President Barack Obama.  Political-science professors and students were on the 30-minute program moderated by Dr. Gordon Mercer, chapter sponsor and Pi Gamma Mu international president.

Read more news from our chapters at Washington and Jefferson College, Salisbury University, Radford University, University of South Carolina Aiken, Mansfield University, University of South Florida, Wayne State College and Pace University.

FIRST IDEAL

Salisbury University recently held a reception for history professor Dr. Clara Small.  Dr. Small chartered the Maryland Gamma chapter of Pi Gamma Mu in 1984 and has been a member of the international Board of Trustees since 1993. 

Holy Family University conferred an honorary doctor of humane letters degree on Harry Carl Schaub, J.D. The D.H.L. degree - the highest honor that the university grants - is presented to individuals whose contributions to the public good warrant exceptional recognition.

INTERNATIONAL AFFILIATE MEMBER

Pi Gamma Mu has a special category of membership: - the International Affiliate Membership.  Please think about the international students and visiting faculty on your campus who might fit into this category, and consider the benefits of choosing them for this special membership.

The purposes of International Affiliate Membership are to introduce international visitors to Pi Gamma Mu, individuals who generally are not eligible for full membership because of their brief tenure on a campus; to encourage the international dimension of Pi Gamma Mu by bringing into greater contact our international guests with Pi Gamma Mu, to enable them to provide information to colleagues abroad about Pi Gamma Mu; and, to become a nucleus for foreign chapter development.  Therefore, the membership criteria are flexible.

PI GAMMA MU PROTECTS CHAPTERS FROM UNCLE SAM

For decades, the U. S. Congress and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had a “hands-off” policy with regard to small nonprofit organizations, such as the chapters of associations like Pi Gamma Mu. The IRS’s rules allowed small nonprofit entities to self-identify as tax-exempt organizations pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and they and the IRS rarely had any contact at all. Sometimes, the only contact was the organization’s one-time submission of Form SS-4, the application for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) that is required to open a checking account.

HAVE YOU VISITED PI GAMMA MU’S WEB SITE LATELY?

If you haven’t visited Pi Gamma Mu’s Web site lately, you might be surprised to discover the many new features that are available for members, prospective members, and chapter officers. Two new Web pages contain descriptions of Pi Gamma Mu’s benefits and services to familiarize prospective chapter sponsors and prospective student members, respectively, with what our honor society is all about. Those pages are designed to encourage the development of new chapters. If you know of professors or students at colleges that don’t have chapters who you think might be willing to help start a chapter, please refer them to those Web pages. Two other new Web pages present ideas about programs and projects for chapter officers and tips and resources for chapter sponsors. Please look around our Web site: You might find some content that will be useful to you.

OTHER NEWS