Lambda Pi Eta honor cord recipients pose with faculty members after the cording ceremony held at the campus this spring, prior to commencement. From left are: Xialing Lin, Ph.D., assistant professor of corporate communication; Todd Adams, Ph.D., assistant professor of philosophy and coordinator of the honors program; Kim Flanders, Ph.D., assistant teaching professor and program coordinator of corporate communications and adviser to Lambda Pi Eta Alpha Epsilon Chapter; Maria Veniamin, honor cord recipient; Durell Johnson, Ph.D., chief academic officer; Morgan Sewack, honor cord recipient; and Jim Hart, assistant teaching professor in communication arts and sciences.
DUNMORE, Pa. — Each year, since its inception at Penn State Scranton, the campus' Lambda Pi Eta Alpha Epsilon Pi chapter honors graduating seniors with honor cords that they wear on graduation day, identifying them as Lamda Pi Eta members. After not being able to hold an in-person, on campus ceremony for the past two years due to COVID-19, the honor society was able to resume their annual traditional ceremony, which was attended by members, staff, faculty and family members of the graduates.
Lambda Pi Eta is the official honor society of the National Communication Association and was initiated at Penn State Scranton by Kim Flanders, assistant teaching professor and program coordinator of corporate communication. Members of the Corporate Communication Club on campus helped organize the cording ceremony with Flanders.
Receiving cords were Lambda Pi Eta graduating officers Maria Veniamin, president; and Morgan Sewack, vice president. In addition to the graduating seniors receiving their honor cords, new members Deyniel Desarden Ruperto and Molly Morgan, who were inducted into the society in the fall, received their official membership certificates and Lambda Pi Eta pins.
To qualify for Lambda Pi Eta membership, undergraduate students must have declared an interest in the field of communication while also having achieved a high level of academic excellence. Eligible members must have completed 60 hours of undergraduate credit courses with 12 of those hours being in communication courses, while being enrolled full-time and being in good academic standing. In addition, students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, maintain a 3.25 GPA in their communication courses, and be in the top 35% of their graduating class.
Lambda Pi Eta was founded by communication students within the University of Arkansas and was later endorsed by the faculty and founder Stephen A. Smith. It was named as the official national honor society for undergraduates by the Speech Communication Association in 1994.
The Association of College Honor Societies inducted Lambda Pi Eta in 1996 and now there are 344 active chapters worldwide.
