The History Club/Alpha Delta Nu Chapter at Cal State San Bernardino has been named the best chapter in the nation by the Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society for the second time in three years.

The award is given to university chapters that “excel in promoting the mission of the honor society on their campus and in their community,” which is to “promote the study of history through the encouragement of research, good teaching, publication and the exchange of learning and ideas among historians,” according to the honor society’s website.

The CSUSB chapter was honored in Division V, a category of universities and colleges with student enrollment from 15,001 to 23,000, for its work during the 2015-16 academic year. It previously was honored with the same award in the 2013-14 academic year.

“I’m very proud of our work and astounded by what we were able to accomplish,” said Rocio Gomez, club president for the 2015-16 academic year. “Being recognized for our efforts in things we are passionate about makes this accolade even more meaningful. I hope all future club members look to our success and are encouraged to build on these achievements with projects they are passionate about as well.”

There are 970 member chapters in the Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society, with more than 400,000 individual members nationwide.

Included among the activities for which the CSUSB chapter was recognized were:

  • Tutoring local high school students through the Upward Bound program,
  • Volunteering in local community projects such as work at national historic sites, including the World War II-era Japanese-American detention center at Manzanar,
  • Hosting the History Club Chican@ History Lecture Series,
  • Taking part in the award-winning student-run journal, History in the Making. The journal, last year and this year, has been under editor-in-chief Heather Garrett, and with the faculty advising of professors Tiffany Jones and Cherstin Lyon.
  • And, for three consecutive years (2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16), the club has been named the Outstanding Student Organization by CSUSB’s Office of Student Engagement, an honor that recognizes the best overall student organization at the university.

In addition, the students were recognized with the Best Academic Programming Award for the Chican@ History Lecture Series, and Best Collaboration with a Non-Student Group for its work on the CSUSB Modern China Lecture Series; it was also honored with the Presidential Volunteer Service Award from President Barack Obama.

Along with Gomez, leading the chapter last year were Maria Figueroa, vice president; Brian Ayala, secretary; and Jasmyn Murrell, treasurer; faculty advisors were professors Ryan Keating and Jeremy Murray.

Current chapter officers are Gonzalo Aguilar, president; Alex Hampton, vice president; Casey Lee, secretary; and Lauren Adams, treasurer. Faculty advisors are Murray and newly arrived Professor Yvette Saavedra.

The History Club is a student organization aimed at promoting the study of history on campus and in the community. It is sponsored by Alpha Delta Nu, CSUSB’s chapter of the national honor society in history, Phi Alpha Theta.

Any student can join the History Club, regardless of major or grade-point average. After taking at least 12 units of history courses, students may qualify for membership in Phi Alpha Theta, the national honor society. Most members join the History Club as underclassmen then, upon meeting the requirements, join the honor society as juniors or seniors.

Members of the History Club and/or Alpha Delta Nu can participate in the same club sponsored activities; however, honor society members receive additional recognition upon graduation and when applying for employment or graduate programs.

Visit the CSUSB Department of History website for information on the History Club and Phi Alpha Theta, as well as the department’s programs. Also visit the Phi Alpha Theta website for information on its programs.

For more information on Cal State San Bernardino, contact the university’s Office of Strategic Communication at (909) 537-5007 or visit news.csusb.edu.