ATU Sociology Student Group Wins National Award

Alpha Kappa Delta Logo

An organization for sociology students at Arkansas Tech University earned national recognition during the 2022 American Sociological Association meeting in Los Angeles, Calif.

ATU’s chapter of Alpha Kappa Delta (AKD), the international sociology honor society, was named AKD chapter of the year in recognition of its activities over the past three years.

Two of ATU AKD’s programs — Get Ready In Time (GRIT) and Six Months for the Shelter — were spotlighted during the award presentation.

The GRIT program provided letters of encouragement, information about applying for college, details about financial aid opportunities and ATU apparel to troubled and at-risk youth served by the 5th Judicial District Department of Youth Rehabilitation.

Six Months for the Shelter involved the creation of flyers for Domestic Violence Awareness Month and the donation of more than 1,000 items to the River Valley Shelter for Battered Women and Children from October 2021 through March 2022.

HIV Arkansas, Joseph’s House, local nursing homes, Neighbor’s Table and various dementia awareness groups have also benefited from the outreach efforts of ATU’s AKD chapter in recent years.

Dr. Jason Ulsperger, ATU professor of sociology, serves as advisor for ATU AKD as well as the ATU chapter of Alpha Phi Sigma, the international honor society for criminal justice students.

Send e-mail to julsperger@atu.edu to learn more about ATU’s chapters of Alpha Kappa Delta, Alpha Phi Sigma and their activities.