Chapter Report Form Submission Chapter Name Chapter Address
Mu Kappa Hofstra University Department of Global Studies and Geography, 209 Roosevelt Hall 1000 Hempstead Turnpike, Hempstead NY 11549
Chapter Website or Social Media Address https://www.hofstra.edu/global-studies-geography/honor-society.html Faculty Sponsor Kari Jensen Faculty Sponsor initiated Pennsylvania State University, Alpha Tau Chapter, 2007. President Julian Rocha Vice President Natalie Correa Secretary Kari Jensen Treasurer Kari Jensen Historian Director of events: Craig Dalton Highlights of Activities of 2023-2024 Academic Year (200-800 words): On April 29, 2024, 12 students were inducted into GTU and Mu Kappa. Faculty sponsor Kari Jensen conducted the induction ceremony together with the student officers of Mu Kappa, President Julian Rocha and Natalie Correa. They are both graduating with Geography degrees this semester and intend on pursuing graduate degrees next year. Julian has been awarded a graduate scholarship to study Urban Planning at UC Berkeley and Natalie has been awarded a graduate scholarship in Geography at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Dr. Veronica Lippencott, Adjunct Associate Professor of Global Studies and Geography at Hofstra, Director of Africana Studies and Associate Director of the Center for “Race, Culture and Social Justice” gave an excellent keynote speech at the ceremony. It was interesting and motivating to learn about her personal journey into the academic discipline of Geography and what Geography has meant in her life. Mu Kappa organizes Geography Awareness Week in November each year together with the Department of Global Studies and Geography. This year we celebrated Geography Awareness Week with a lecture by Dr. Will Payne from Rutgers University, who taught us about using data from local businesses in the context of web mapping and geographical analysis. In addition, we had an alumni event where Tempe Staples (Global Studies and Geography, double major and Mu Kappa inductee ’16), met with our students. Tempe has a Master's degree in Community Health Science from Clark University, and was the Senior Director of Research & Policy at a non-profit working with trafficked women for 4 years in Worcester. Currently, she is Research & Evaluation Coordinator at the Coalition for a Healthy Greater Worcester, as well as a Visiting Professor at Assumption University, where she teaches "Responding to Survivors of Violence in a Provider Setting" to pre-med students. Our students learned a lot from Tempe's elaborations about her study and work experiences, and about finding work/life balance. Tempe’s successful career is an example of how a BA degree in Geography can be used as a foundation for many different career choices. Additional Information to be Considered for Chapter Awards Chapters that wish to be considered for the Honors Chapter Award or the Presidential Honors Chapter Award should indicate that they believe that they have satisfied each of the awards criteria and provide answers to the questions listed below. The Awards Committee will use these answers to judge whether or not the chapter has satisfied the criteria for a chapter honors award. The criteria for the awards can be found at http://gammathetaupsilon.org/chapter-awards.html Honors Chapter Award