On October 25th, Dr. Robert Smith, national president of the Pi Mu Epsilon Honorary National Mathematics Society, installed North Carolina’s Nu chapter at Elon. Dr. Smith, right, is pictured presenting the charter to Elon Provost Gerry Francis, left, at the culmination of an evening of festivities.
Pi Mu Epsilon was founded on May 25, 1914 at Syracuse University and has 307 chapters at colleges and universities throughout the United States. The purpose of PME is the promotion of scholarly activity in mathematics among the students in academic institutions.
A chapter of Pi Mu Epsilon may be chartered only in an academic institution whose standards are excellent in all liberal arts departments and particularly in mathematics. In order to qualify for a chapter, the petitioning institution must show evidence that there has been an ongoing history of student mathematical activity outside the classroom; that there are adequate facilities to support this activity; and that the faculty at the institution are fully supportive of the goals and objectives of the society.
Elon students may qualify for membership by being a junior or senior in the top third of their class, having taken calculus, and having 20-31 math credit hours with a GPA of at least 3.5 or more than 31 hours with a GPA of at least 3.2. Eleven students and five faculty members were inducted as charter members at the installation ceremony.