Winfield, KS -- (ReleaseWire) -- 01/29/2021 --Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society was founded in 1924 by Dr. Leroy Allen at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas and Dr. William Hamilton at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. It remains the most distinguished honor society in the area of social sciences. Memberships are extended to students with top grades in the areas of anthropology, criminal justice, economics, geography - human, gerontology, history, history of education, human services, international relations, political science, psychology, social philosophy, sociology, social work, as well as related interdisciplinary programs anchored in the social sciences.

In 1924, Dr. Leroy Allen drove extensively across the United States starting chapters and Pi Gamma Mu was underway and growing rapidly. Our Pi Gamma Mu honorary president, adventurer, and Naval Admiral Richard E. Byrd carried the Pi Gamma Mu flag with him to the Antarctic in 1928, where it remains today. He noted that the study of the social sciences and being honored by becoming a lifetime member of Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society is an adventure! A spirit of adventure and academic discovery into the unknown is something we value as we recognize the scholarly accomplishments of our members.

We support our lifetime members through our Pi Gamma Mu scholarships, conventions, our newsletter, and our peer-reviewed journal, the "International Social Science Review," which encourages student, faculty, and member publications. We are a certified member of the Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS) which assures the highest standards and that our members selected for Federal Service get higher ratings and salaries. "Membership in an ACHS-certified honor society, like Pi Gamma Mu, provides members with credible recognition of superior academic achievement and tangible lifelong benefits," said Suzanne Rupp, executive director of Pi Gamma Mu. "Some of the most tangible benefits of membership include our scholarship program and the potential for increased pay for federal jobs. At Pi Gamma Mu we strive to maintain a robust array of benefits for our members."

So that new Pi Gamma Mu members are aware of the outstanding accomplishments of those who once stood in their place, we maintain a list of prominent members to inspire new members about long-term possibilities in their own lives. Please overview our list of prominent members and nominate colleges and universities in your state that do not have chapters of Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society.

Selected Distinguished and Prominent Members of Pi Gamma Mu

Prominent Public Policy Leaders

Henry J. Abraham – internationally recognized constitutionalist, and "Social Science" (Pi Gamma Mu journal) assistant editor (1956-1967)

Katharine Lee Bates - a prolific American writer, college professor, scholar, social activist, and author of "America the Beautiful"

Ernst Philip Boas - famous cardiologist, inventor of the cardiotachometer, and early proponent of national health insurance

Michael Copps - Commissioner of the US Federal Communications Commission (2001-2011)

Robert D. Eilers - originator of health care management and health management organizations (HMOs)

Michael S. Heimall - Colonel (ret.) Medical Corps, United States Army Chief of Staff, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (2015 - 2017), and Director of the Washington, D.C., VA Medical Center (2018 -present)

Michell Hicks - Principal Chief of Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, 2003-2015. He is a leader in economic development with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

David M. Kennedy - US Secretary of the Treasury (1968-1971), and US Ambassador to NATO (1972-1973)

Marilyn McAfee - career diplomat and U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala (1992-1997)

Distinguished Corporate Leaders

Paul Finkelstein - President and Chief Executive Officer (1996-2017), and Chairman of the Board (2004-2017) of Regis Corporation - the world's largest hair salon industry and a Fortune 500 corporation

Robert B. Goergen - founder and incumbent Chairman and CEO of Blyth, Inc.

Reginald H. Jones - Chairman and CEO of General Electric Co. (1971-1982)

Presidents, Heads of State, and Global Leaders

Ricardo Joaquín Alfaro – President of Panama (1931-1932)

Richard E. Byrd - US admiral and polar explorer who was first to fly over the North and South Poles, and Pi Gamma Mu Honorary National President (1931-1935)

Lyndon Baines Johnson - US President (1963-1969)

Charles P. Kindleberger - M.I.T. economist and chief architect of the Marshall Plan

Jacques Paul Klein – Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (1996-1999)

Jose P. Laurel – President of the Philippines (1942-1945)

Salvador H. Laurel - Senator (1967-1973) and Vice-President of the Philippines (1986-1991)

Ferdinand E. Marcos – President of the Philippines (1965-1986)

Lester B. Pearson – Prime Minister of Canada (1962-1968) and winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace (1957)

Gustavs Zemgals – President of Latvia (1927-1931)

Nobel and Pulitzer Prize Winners

Jane Addams - early social worker and founder of Hull House (America's original settlement house), and first female winner of the Nobel Peace Prize (1931)

Matthew Bolton - team member of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons which was awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize

Simon S. Kuznets - former Pi Gamma Mu chapter officer, internationally renowned economist, and winner of the 1971 Nobel Prize in Economic Science

Roy F. Nichols – winner of the Pulitzer Prize in History (1949)

Lester B. Pearson – Prime Minister of Canada (1962-1968) and winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace (1957)

Emily Welty - Vice Moderator of the World Council of Churches Commission on International Affairs and Main Representative to the United Nations for the International Peace Research Association. Team member of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons which was awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize

Judicial and Court Leaders

Teresita Leonardo de Castro - Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines (2007-present)

William T. Coleman, Jr. – author of the winning legal brief in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) outlawing racial segregation in public education, and US Secretary of Transportation (1975-1977)

Hilario Davide, Jr. – Chief Justice of the Philippines (1997-2005), and Philippine Ambassador to the United Nations (2006-2010)

Mark Martin - senior justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court (1998-2014), and Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court (2014-2018)

Conchita Morales - the first woman Justice to administer the Oath of Office to an incoming President of the Philippines

Michele Price - Municipal Judge, Colorado Springs, Colorado, (1999-present) Legal Counsel, Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society (2002-present). She is recognized for her outstanding groundbreaking work with youth

Miriam Defensor Santiago – constitutionalist and Senator of the Philippines (1995-2016)

William French Smith – US Attorney-General (1980-1985)

Legislative and Congressional Leaders

Edgardo J. Angara – Senator of the Philippines (1987-1988 & 2001-2013) and Secretary of Agriculture – Philippines (1999-2001)

Hilario Davide, Jr. – Chief Justice of the Philippines (1997-2005), and Philippine Ambassador to the United Nations (2006-2010)

Diana L. DeGette – US Congresswoman from Colorado (1996-present) and Chief Deputy Whip of the US House of Representatives (2006-present)

Juan Ponce Enrile – Senator of the Philippines (1987-2013)

Charles Grassley – US Senator from Iowa (1980-present)

Spark M. Matsunaga - US Senator from Hawaii (1976-1990)

Prominent Scholars and Academic Leaders

Henry J. Abraham – internationally recognized constitutionalist, and Social Science (Pi Gamma Mu journal) assistant editor (1956-1967)

Leroy Allen - Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Southwestern College in Winfield Kansas and Founder of Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society in 1922. He served as President of Pi Gamma Mu from 1924-1931

P. Kay Anderson - Professor of Social Work at Mary Hardin-Baylor and first Female President of Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society, 1996-2002

Panos Bardis - Professor of Sociology at the University of Toledo and Editor, "International Social Science Review" from 1959-1993 and author of 23 books

Charles Abram Ellwood – eminent sociologist, founder of Duke University's Sociology Department, and Pi Gamma Mu National President (1931-1937)

Ina Turner Gray - Executive Director, Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society, 1976-1996. She prioritized growth and building a Pi Gamma Mu Foundation

Grace Raymond Hebard – political economist and pioneering historian of the Native Americans, and Pi Gamma Mu co-founder and National Vice-President (1924-1931)

Cheryl Lovell - President of Adams State University, 2018-present. She is a leader in providing educational access to students of all economic levels.

Margaret Mead – pioneering cultural anthropologist and 1956 Pi Gamma Mu Convention keynote speaker

S. Howard Patterson – noted labor and social economist, author of microeconomics textbooks, and longest-serving Pi Gamma Mu National President (1937-1951)

Judith S. Rodin - groundbreaking experimental psychologist, first female Ivy League university President (The University of Pennsylvania 1994-2004), and President of the Rockefeller Foundation (2005-2017)

Edward A. Ross – pioneer in criminology and Pi Gamma Mu honorary National President (1937-1951)

Clara Small - Professor Emerita at Salisbury University and Second Vice President of Pi Gamma Mu. She is a leading author on Blacks fighting for Union in the Civil War and has written, "Men of Color to Arms!" with David Briddell and "They Wore Blue and Their Hearts Were Loyal: Dorchester County, Maryland's United States Colored Troops, " written with Teresa Neld. Her many books on Black Union Troops fighting in the Civil Ward have been widely recognized

Pitirim Sorokin – renowned sociologist, founder of Harvard University's Sociology Department, and Pi Gamma Mu National Vice-President (1937-1941)

In talking about prominent members that inspire us our faculty advisers often cover our ideals of service, idealism, and sacrifice and give examples of distinguished lifetime members that inspire us to reach our full potential in life. Pi Gamma Mu prominent members have excelled in areas like public policy, Nobel and Pulitzer Prize Winners, prominent scholars and academic leaders, judicial and court leaders, as well as corporate leaders. "One of the striking things about our prominent members is that in most cases they have had global influence and have impacted history in significant ways." Said Gordon Mercer, professor emeritus at Western Carolina University and Immediate Past-President of Pi Gamma Mu. "While our list of prominent members continually grows, we want to congratulate all of our prominent members, as they are an important inspiration to Pi Gamma Mu." These prominent members have often achieved the impossible and followed the advice of one of our honorary past presidents, Admiral Richard E. Byrd, to travel into the unknown with a spirit of adventure. Faculty advisers emphasize that new members have already proven that they are among the best and urge them to continue to build on their accomplishments, remembering our ideal of service. Faculty advisers as they cover our ideals like service, sacrifice, and scholarship, in membership inductions, often advise new members to follow their inner truth and dare to take flight into the unknown and use their ideals and knowledge to light the path.

Pi Gamma Mu membership is for life. Our Pi Gamma Mu newsletter has an Alumni Spotlight feature that gives continual updates on member accomplishments. Through our electronic Listserv, our newsletter, the "International Social Science Review," Alumni Council, Triennial Conventions, and Outstanding Alumni Award, we have many supportive services for lifetime members. Our list of prominent Pi Gamma Mu members is not exhaustive, and we invite suggestions, as we are proud of our members and are continually updating our list of prominent members and our Listserv of all members. For accredited colleges and universities wanting to start a chapter or if you want to nominate a college or university to start a chapter of Pi Gamma Mu or get information, you should contact Dr. Suzanne Rupp, Executive Director: at 620-221-3128 or SuzanneRupp@pigmmmamu.org

About Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society in Social Sciences
Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society in Social Sciences, (http://www.pigammamu.org), based in Winfield, Kansas, provides recognition and opportunities to high achieving Social Science students at chapters located on college and university campuses around the world. Visit our website to learn more about starting a chapter. Pi Gamma Mu was founded in 1924 and has been certified by the Association of College Honor Societies since 1953. Our mission is to encourage and promote excellence in the Social Sciences and to uphold and nurture scholarship, leadership, and service. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.