(North Canton, OH – Aug. 4, 2020 – Stark State College has earned the national Psi Beta 2020 Chapter Excellence Award. Psi Beta is the national honor society in psychology for community colleges.

Stark State’s chapter advisors, professors Dr. Nicole Cleland and Dr. April Cunion, volunteer countless hours to mentor their students, the national organization noted in its award, and chapter activities often benefit the college, community and students who do not participate in Psi Beta.

Stark State’s Psi Beta chapter, for instance, operates a food pantry for the school community, receiving donations from students, faculty, and staff to keep the pantry stocked. The pantry is coordinated by SSC student Jaslyn Hemsath; other dedicated officers for the most recent academic year include Eric Martinez and Christel Campbell.

Less than 10 percent of Psi Beta chapters nationwide earn the Chapter Excellence Award distinction, according to Dr. Bryan Gerber, departing Midwest region VP for the Psi Beta National Council and a former SSC chapter advisor.

“It is a demonstration of not only superior scholarship, but also significant community involvement, and contributions to the science of psychology,” Gerber said. “The Stark State College chapter of Psi Beta, chartered in 2014, has received this distinction every year since 2015.”

Chapter advisers, he added, “put forth a great deal of effort and Dr. Cleland and Dr. Cunion are to be congratulated. Also, the members throughout the years have been some of the most dynamic students at Stark State.”

Psi Beta is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies and an affiliate of the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society. The Psi Beta mission is to professionally develop outstanding psychology students at two-year colleges through promotion and recognition of excellence in scholarship, leadership, research and community service.