English at Aquinas College

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Alpha Chi Iota is Aquinas College’s chapter of the International English Honor Society Sigma Tau Delta, which is over 100 years old and connects our students with academic conferences, publication opportunities, awards, grants and scholarships, as well as collegial relationships with mentors and established scholars in English studies as well as students at other colleges and universities.

The English Department inducts new student members to Sigma Tau Delta every year.  To be eligible for Sigma Tau Delta membership, students majoring or minoring in English must have:

• three college courses completed in English language or literature with grades of 3.3 or higher;
• a minimum of a 3.5 or equivalent average in English; and
• a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale.

Alpha Chi Iota members gain leadership skills through serving as chapter officers, organizing poetry readings, and publishing the SAMPLER, the college’s annual student literary magazine.  Many are also members and/or leaders of the Aquinas Writers’ Guild, a student organization which hosts open mic nights, creative writing activities, or trips to local bookstores.

For the induction ceremony for new Alpha Chi Iota chapter members of Sigma Tau Delta, students:

• are registered with the international headquarters of Sigma Tau Delta, for which an initiation fee of $60 for a lifelong membership is covered by the English Department;
• gather with English Department faculty, with current Sigma Tau Delta members and executive board, and with invited guests;
• present a paper on a literary topic that has been written for a class and revised for the occasion; it may be a study of a single literary work, a focused essay on two or more related works, or original poetry or prose; 
• receive an induction pin and certificate; and
• celebrate the written word, enjoying treats and time together.

Alpha Chi Iota Club Advisor:  Amy Dunham Strand, Ph.D., stranamy@aquinas.edu.