Students and faculty inducted to Alpha ETA Society

By Kate Hunger

The School of Health Professions Alpha ETA Society inducted new student and faculty members in April.

To be eligible for membership in the society, undergraduates must earn at least a 3.5 GPA and show a capacity of leadership and achievement to be eligible for membership, while graduate students must have a 3.8 GPA and demonstrate the same leadership and achievement qualities.

“The society represents all of Allied Health as it seeks to promote and recognize significant scholarship, leadership, and service contributions to our professions and patients,’” noted David C. Shelledy, Ph.D., RRT, FAARC, FASAHP, Dean of the School of Health Professions, in remarks at the April 29 ceremony.

The national honor society’s motto is “Together we serve.” The campus chapter was founded in 2002.

Inductees not only are at the top of their class but also are expected to continue their leadership and service as they progress in their careers, said Alpha Eta Chapter President, Martha Acosta, Ph.D., PT, GCS., Physical Therapy Assistant Professor.

The 2019 student inductees are: Brandon Scott Foxworth, Vance Layne Kirkhuff and James Theron Whitley (EHS); Melissa Ann Lara, Francisco Medrano, Jessica Moyer and Ryan Vergara (MLS); Sarah Bevins, Allanah Gallagher, Jemma Bohlar-Marshman and Patricia Villarreal (OT); Richard Henderson and Dominic Rangel (PT); Sana R. Hammad, Bianca Nieves and Rain Oihane Rueda (RC); and Shane Thomas (SLP).

The faculty inductees are Paul B. Allen, Sr., DSc, MPAS, PA-C, Physician Assistant Studies Assistant Professor, Letitia Barnhart, Medical Laboratory Sciences TITLE, and  Fang-Ling Lu, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Associate Professor, Interim Chair, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and director of the master's program in Speech-Language Pathology.