Cal State San Bernardino’s chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha has received the highest recognition from the national political science honor society for the sixth consecutive year, the National Best Chapter Award.“I am extremely proud of the Theta Iota Chapter officers who effectively collaborated this year to provide several high-quality opportunities for students to showcase their work and to engage with faculty and other professionals within the discipline,” said Christina Villegas, the chapter’s faculty adviser and assistant professor of political science. “Our chapter's history of winning Pi Sigma Alpha's prestigious National Best Chapter Award reflects our continued dedication to promoting academic excellence, professional growth, and civic engagement among CSUSB students and alumni.“Our success in this endeavor would not be possible without the unwavering support we receive from administrators, faculty, students and alumni,” she said.This is the 10th time the chapter has won the award since its inception in 1976, Villegas said. The chapter won national best chapter awards in 2000, 2001, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. The chapter received a national best chapter adviser award in 2002.The CSUSB chapter was one of 16 chapters, out of more than 800, to be recognized for a National Best Chapter Award and one of four to be recognized for schools with enrollments between 15,000-25,000.“I am beyond proud of Theta Iota’s National Best Chapter Award because it recognizes the hard work my fellow officers and faculty adviser, Dr. Christina Villegas, dedicated this past year,” said Julie Leyba, the chapter’s president. “It was a true honor to serve as chapter president because it allowed me the opportunity to assist student members and be a source for chapter events. It also helped me find my voice as an effective leader and the value of listening to differing perspectives. “Pi Sigma Alpha is unique in that it fosters an open forum for faculty and students to discuss topics ranging from national security, local government, and the impact of media and politics,” she said. “I hope this sixth consecutive award will inspire others to pursue Pi Sigma Alpha membership at CSUSB and future leadership positions. It will teach the values of hard work, commitment and humility.”Sean Twombly, the national administrator for Pi Sigma Alpha, said in the email to Villegas announcing the award: “The national office is thrilled to make this award to the Theta Iota chapter for the sixth year in a row. It is clear that you, Julie Leyba as president, and the rest of chapter officers and members worked hard to sustain an active and vibrant chapter.”Officers serving the chapter with Leyba were:

  • Abraham Garcia, vice president;
  • Zach Garcia, treasurer; 
  • Jodi Buckley, assistant program coordinator; and
  • Donavan Goodrich, secretary.

Founded in 1920, Pi Sigma Alpha is the only national honor society for college students of political science and government in the United States. The honor society has more than 800 chapters on college and university campuses in every state of the United States and one in Canada.For more information on the national political science honor society, visit the Pi Sigma Alpha website and follow the society on Facebook (search @PiSigmaAlphaNational), LinkedIn at Pi Sigma Alpha, The National Political Science Honor Society and Twitter at @PSANational.For more information on Cal State San Bernardino, contact the university’s Office of Strategic Communication at (909) 537-5007 and visit inside.csusb.edu.