The Daily Bulletin Archive

Buffalo State has joined the ranks of nearly 250 institutions with a chapter of Alpha Lambda Delta, a national first-year honor society.

Nearly 40 students—together with honorary members President Muriel A. Howard; Hal Payne, vice president for student affairs; and Janet Ramsey, associate vice president for undergraduate education and dean of University College—celebrated Buffalo State’s reception into the national charter during an induction ceremony on February 16 in the Campbell Student Union Social Hall. The college is now one of five New York institutions with a chapter.

Scott Johnson, assistant dean of first-year and academic support programs for University College, and Eileen Merberg, retention and leadership specialist for student affairs, advise the chapter.

“The first year of college is so critical to success for academic achievement,” said Merberg. “Alpha Lambda Delta is a way to recognize high academic success early on.”

All first-year students who receive a 3.5 grade point average or higher after their first semester are eligible to join. Johnson and Merberg began working in 2006 to lay the groundwork for the organization and sent notification letters to hundreds of students in spring 2007. The students who responded then took the initiative to elect board members and organize events. Members held a picnic during a spring 2007 study day and made holiday cards for patients at Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo during a pancake breakfast in early December. Upcoming activities include a resume-writing class and a public-speaking workshop.

“Alpha Lambda Delta is an extraordinary opportunity for us to show that there are great rewards for working hard in school,” said sophomore Michael Vaccaro, the chapter’s treasurer. “We were all very excited at this new opportunity—we ran with it and have not looked back since.”

Students inducted into Alpha Lambda Delta are members for life. Founded in 1924, the organization has initiated more than 700,000 students. In recent years, it has provided annual scholarship support, including 35 undergraduate scholarships of $1,000 each and 23 graduate fellowships ranging from $3,000 to $7,500. Other benefits include a yearly national leadership workshop and access to a national job board.

Alpha Lambda Delta is separate from the All College Honors Program but accepts Honors Program students as members.

“Alpha Lambda Delta is not meant to compete with the Honors Program; it’s meant to recognize achievement in a different way,” said Johnson. “It speaks to a constituency that wasn’t spoken to before. Once faculty and staff better understand who we are, I hope they will encourage more students to join. Nearly 300 first-year students had a 3.5 GPA or better last year, which shows that it’s very possible to achieve academic success at Buffalo State.”