Kent State hosts first Phi Alpha Theta regional conference since 1998

Kent State’s history honor society celebrated its 70th anniversary Saturday with students from colleges across Ohio and West Virginia.

The Phi Alpha Theta regional conference gave history students a place to present essays and gain feedback from other historians, said Thomas Weyant, Kent State chapter president.

Students submitted abstracts of their work before the event and then gave their full presentation to themed panels during Saturday’s conference on the third floor of the Student Center.

Topics such as “Imperialism,” “The Flood of 1913” and “Ohio History” were discussed in the panels, where almost 50 essays were presented throughout the seven-hour conference.

Weyant said the conference was a good way for undergraduate students to present their work outside of the classroom.

After all the essays were presented, winners from each panel won a history book of their choosing.

“It was a way to highlight academic excellence through history,” Weyant said.

Kent State’s Phi Alpha Theta chapter had not hosted the annual conference since 1998 for its 60th anniversary.

Weyant said Phi Alpha Theta has a long history at the Kent State chapter, which currently has approximately 100 members.

In order to be a member, undergraduates must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher and have completed at least 12 credit hours of history classes. Graduate students must have completed at least 12 credit hours toward a history master’s degree and maintain a 3.5 GPA.

National representative Richard Small said Phi Alpha Theta is the largest organization of historians with over a quarter of a million members.

Contact Greek life reporter Jessica Lumpp at [email protected].