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Raritan Valley Community College’s chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society received several regional awards – including the top Honors in Action Project – at Phi Theta Kappa's 30th annual Middle States Regional Convention, held March 16-19 in Long Branch.

RVCC’s chapter, Alpha Epsilon Pi, competed against 79 Phi Theta Kappa chapters in the Middle States Region. The region includes chapters from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and Washington, DC.

The chapter’s award-winning Honors in Action piece, titled “Rights and Responsibilities,” focused on the responsibility of society to provide rehabilitation to prisoners whose rights have been taken away. In addition to extensively researching the issue, the students planned several events to educate the RVCC community and support dialog regarding the current role of prisons in our society. The chapter also launched a successful advocacy campaign to encourage Phi Theta Kappa to change its bylaws so that currently incarcerated and paroled students are able to join the organization.

This endeavor was important to the members of Phi Theta Kappa due to the College’s partnership with the New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons Consortium (NJ-STEP). NJ-STEP is an association of higher education institutions in New Jersey that works with the State of New Jersey Department of Corrections and New Jersey State Parole Board to provide higher education courses for all students under the custody of the State of New Jersey while they are incarcerated, and assist in the transition to college life upon their release into the community.

Due largely to the chapter’s efforts, Phi Theta Kappa changed its bylaws and the College’s chapter will soon be inducting more than 100 new members currently incarcerated throughout the state. These students have all earned 15 college credits from RVCC while maintaining a 3.5 GPA or higher.

The College’s chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society earned several additional honors at the convention, including Distinguished Officer Team, Distinguished Advisor Team (Sara Banfield and Steve Schwarz), Continued Excellence Advisor Award (Steve Schwarz), and the Honors in Action Theme Award. Chapter President Aynesley Arthur and Vice President of Leadership Jeshua Rodriguez also were named to the Middle States Officer Hall of Fame.

Raritan Valley Community College’s chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society is led by Steve Schwarz (faculty member, Computer Science Department) and Sara Banfield (faculty member, Communication Department). Chapter officers for 2016-2017 include Aynesley Arthur, President; Matt Amabile, Vice President; Kristine Bulava, Vice President of Scholarship and Service; Jeshua Rodriguez, Vice President of Leadership and Fellowship; and Emily Stratton, Vice President of Membership and Secretary.                        

Raritan Valley Community College’s main campus is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, NJ. Serving Somerset and Hunterdon County residents for close to 50 years, RVCC is an educational and cultural center that is nationally recognized for its innovative programming, service to the community and environmental leadership. The College offers more than 90 associate degrees and certificates, as well as career training, professional development, and adult and youth personal enrichment courses. The College also has a performing arts center and planetarium.

RVCC is committed to offering a quality and affordable education through effective teaching, liaisons with the community’s businesses, and state-of-the-art technology. For further information, visit www.raritanval.edu.



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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 23, 2017

Media contact: Donna Stolzer, 908-526-1200, ext. 8383

PR #136