Chapter of Nu Rho Psi to be 17th in Nation, 1st in State
HARTFORD, Conn. – In a unanimous vote of a three-member panel, Trinity has been awarded a chapter of Nu Rho Psi, The National Honor Society in Neuroscience, making the school’s Neuroscience Program only the 17th in the country and the first in Connecticut to be granted a charter.
Notification was given September 12 to Susan Masino, Charles A. Dana Research Associate Professor Psychology and Neuroscience. Because the program is the first in the state to achieve this exalted status, the Trinity College Nu Rho Psi chapter designation will be “Alpha in Connecticut.” Trinity President James F. Jones, Jr., called the honor “just wonderful.”
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system.
The confirmation letter was sent to Masino by Andrew Mickley, executive director of Nu Rho Psi and professor and chair of the Neuroscience Program at Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio. Trinity’s charter application was approved by a panel of three prominent neuroscientists and then affirmed by Mickley. The application was 167 pages in length. An induction ceremony will be held in the spring.
“The leaders in the field noted that Trinity’s program is special with a long history of neuroscience in the liberal arts environment,” said Masino. “The designation is recognition of our excellent curriculum, faculty and students.”
In his letter to Masino, Mickley wrote that, “Clearly, Trinity College seems like a very special place.” He praised the school’s application as “thorough and well organized” and said the faculty members appear “highly qualified” to teach courses in the neuroscience curriculum.
“I have been familiar with the program and faculty at Trinity for a number of years,” said Mickley. “They have been regular participants in past FUN Workshops and in the regional undergraduate neuroscience conference NEURON. There is undeniable evidence that there is an exceptionally strong community of student and faculty neuroscientists.”
The purpose of Nu Rho Psi is to encourage professional excellence in scholarship; award recognition to students who have achieved excellence in scholarship; advance the discipline of neuroscience and to encourage intellectual and social interaction between students, faculty and professionals; promote career development in neuroscience; increase public awareness of neuroscience and its benefits for society; and encourage service to the community.
In analyzing Trinity’s application, the panel of neuroscientists reviewed the answers to the following questions, among others:
• Are the mission and goals of the College consistent with the mission/goals of Nu Rho Psi?
• Is the College accredited by a recognized higher education accrediting organization?
• Has the College been cited for non-adherence to its nondiscriminatory policies and freedom of inquiry and expression?
• Are the courses that are considered by the institution to be a part of the neuroscience major, minor, or similar track sufficient in number, content and offerings to provide students with appropriate exposure to the disciplines of the brain sciences?
• Are there sufficient numbers of students and faculty to support a chapter of Nu Rho Psi?
• Are there a sufficient number of well-trained and productive full-time faculty teaching the courses that are part of the neuroscience curriculum?
• Is there a history of student co-curricular activity in the neurosciences that predict success of a chapter of Nu Rho Psi?
For more information about the honor society, visit: www.nurhopsi.org/drupal.
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