Elon’s chapter of Beta Alpha Psi, the honorary organization for financial information students and professionals, was awarded “Gold chapter” status during the national organization’s annual conference this month in Denver. Elon was one of seven chapters to achieve the honor, which is the highest award level a chapter can receive.
The award is given to chapters who continually demonstrate and exemplify the highest values of Beta Alpha Psi: leadership, scholastic success, lifelong learning and development, service, and ethical behavior. To obtain Gold status, eligible chapters competed in the Gold Chapter Challenge sponsored by KPMG, which involved submitting a 10-minute video presentation explaining why their chapter deserved Gold status.
Eligible chapters had “Superior chapter” status and participated in a regional meeting and this year’s annual meeting. “This is a huge honor,” said Patty Cox, faculty advisor and an assistant professor of accounting. “I’m very proud of our students and appreciate the opportunity to work with them.”
Cox attended the conference with the following students and alumni: Madeline Benn ’12 (vice president), Samuel L. Burke ’89, David Campbell ‘12, Alex Dempsey ’12, Jennifer Kirts ’11 (2010-11 president), Jamie Milliski ’12 (secretary), Jake Schoenfeld ’12 (treasurer), Sam Upton ’12 (president) and Justin Wanner ’13.
The group participated in several activities including:
Community Service Day – Students helped homeless people in the Denver area find needed social services.
“Project Run With It” sponsored by Moss Adams LLP – Wanner was placed in a group of four with BAP members from other schools. They worked together to present solutions to a business issue affecting a nonprofit organization in the Denver area.
Best Practices Competition – As a result of placing first in the Best Practices Competition sponsored by Deloitte at the BAP Southeast Regional conference earlier this year, Dempsey, Benn and Schoenfeld competed in the “Enhancing Our Role in Environmental Sustainability and Social Responsibility” category.
Concurrent sessions – Upton, Milliski and Campbell presented a session on “Recruiting New Members.”
Hosting – Elon students volunteered to serve as a host chapter helping with activities related to the conference.
During the conference, BAP recognized Burke, a member of the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business Board of Advisors and partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, as the Beta Alpha Psi Business Information Professional of the Year in the “professional services” category. He was chosen from a pool of nominations submitted by chapters nationwide.
Elon’s chapter has been a “Superior chapter” member for the past two years and is the university’s 2011 Organization of the Year in the “30 members or more” category. Cox is Elon’s 2011 Barbara H. Carlton Outstanding Faculty Advisor of the Year.
– Written by Nicole Filippo, Martha and Spencer Love School of Business