National Business Students Organization Chapter Opens at A&M International

Texas A&M International University business students who excel in academics may be invited to join a prestigious national business students organization opening a chapter at A&M International.

The A&M International chapter of Sigma Beta Delta will be established officially at a ceremony scheduled Monday, Dec. 15 at 6:30 p.m. in the Great Room of the Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library.

The A&M International chapter of Sigma Beta Delta will be presented its charter by Dr. James H. Bearden, Sigma Beta Delta's national president and director of the Branch Banking and Trust Center for Leadership Development at East Carolina University.

The organization, founded through the sponsorship of the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society, was established in 1994 to provide an opportunity for faculty at institutions with regional accreditation but not specialized accreditation in business to give business, management or administration students national recognition for outstanding academic achievements. The Society also encourages and promotes personal and professional improvement and service to humankind.

A&M International president Dr. Charles Jennett said the University's chapter establishment underscores its standard of academic excellence.

"We are honored that the superiority of our faculty, programs and students has lead to the formation of this prestigious chapter of Sigma Beta Delta and believe that it clearly signals measurable academic excellence," Jennett said.

Sigma Beta Delta has 94 chapters nationwide, with a total of 5,200 members.

A&M International's business graduate student majors who rank in the top 20 percent of the University's graduate students population are among those eligible for invitation to membership in the Society. In addition, seniors in the top 10 percent and juniors who are in the top seven percent of their respective graduating classes are eligible.

This Fall semester, 37 students who have pursued excellence in their academic preparation for careers in business have earned membership invitations to Sigma Beta Delta.

The students are Echo Funglang Chang, Qi Chen, Jesse Saunders Freels III, Carlos Alberto Guzman, Brian Joseph Hale, Toby Lin Hall, Hassan Mousaid, Wendy TJ Ro, Jake Norman Spruiell, Miguel A. Valentin Casado, Raul Villarreal Jr., Ying Zhao, Sheri Elaine Alba, Jesus M. Alejandro, Rita Ancira, Minerva Ayala, Elizabeth Belcher, Evelyn Cortez, Anel D. De Leon, Jean Louis Egrem and Joseph Andrew Gage.

Also, Hilda Maria Garcia, Pablo O. Garza Jr., Alicia Gonzalez, Juan Jose Gonzalez, Maria Veronica Gonzalez-Lopez, Claudia Hernandez, Maylen Hernandez, Jeannie A. Johnson, Billie Anne Leyendecker, Maria Imelda Lopez, Ana M. Martinez, Karla Manoella Quezada, Raquel Ramirez, Leticia Gonzalez, Erica Hinojosa and Rosbel Soliz Jr.

The evening function will also serve to initiate the following honorary members: Radcliffe Killam, Dr. Charles Jennett, Dr. William Larry Boyd and Dr. Khosrow Fatemi. Faculty officers will also be initiated and include Dr. Kurt R. Jesswein, chapter president; Dr. Henry C. Smith III, vice president; and Dr. Stephen E. Lunce, secretary-treasurer and faculty advisor.

For more information, please contact Dr. Jesswein at A&M International's College of Business Administration at 326-2512. University hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Affairs and Information Services at pais@tamiu.edu