Fulgham named 2016 PTK Faculty Scholar

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Dr. Melissa Fulgham, Northeast Texas Community College Associate Professor of History and Division Chair of Social Sciences, was recently chosen to serve as a 2016 Phi Theta Kappa Faculty Scholar.†Fulgham†was among only 30 Phi Theta†Kappa advisors globally†chosen for this honor. The scholars were selected through a rigorous application process based on knowledge of the 2015/2016 Honors Study Topic,†How The World Works: Global Perspectives, and demonstrated excellence in†teaching or administration. This is Fulgham's fourth†year to be selected for this honor.

?We congratulate them for being selected to serve and for their willingness and desire to surpass the traditional duties of an advisor by contributing in this manner,? said Susan Edwards, Phi Theta Kappa?s Dean of Academic Affairs and Honors Programs.

The group will attend the annual Faculty Scholar Conference at Phi Theta Kappa?s Center for Excellence in Jackson, Mississippi, January 27-30, where they will study the 2016/2017 Honors Study Topic and prepare to serve as discussion facilitators for the 2016 Honors Institute†at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The group will also serve as Faculty Scholars for the 2017 Honors Institute.

During Honors Institute, the Faculty Scholars will lead groups of 15 to 18 honor students in seminar discussions of the issues presented by experts on the Honors Study Topic throughout the week.

Fulgham took over leadership of the NTCC Alpha Mu Chi chapter of Phi Theta Kappa in May 2010. Since then, the organization has won numerous regional and national awards. In 2014, Alpha Mu Chi was named a Top 100 Chapter internationally.†Additionally,†Fulgham†was also recently appointed to the Honors Program Council, a four-year appointment.

All†Council members have previously served as Faculty Scholars for the Society's Honors Institute and are certified instructors for Phi Theta Kappa's Leadership Development Studies Program. Certification for Leadership Development requires intensive reading and preparation in historical and contemporary leadership topics as well as a week-long immersive seminar experience. Fulgham received certification in 2011.

The Phi Theta Kappa Honors Program Council, composed of Phi Theta Kappa faculty advisors and consultants, biennially selects the Society's Honors Study Topic, an interdisciplinary study used by chapters and colleges as the basis for honors study in colloquies, courses, seminars, and Honors in Action projects. The Honors Program Council also publishes the†Honors Program Guide, a resource for exploring the Honors Study Topic, and assists in planning the Society's Faculty Scholar Conference and Honors Institute, a weeklong summer conference focusing on the Honors†Study Topic.

Other members of the Honors Program Council include Susan Edwards, Dean of Academic Affairs and Honors†Programs, Phi Theta Kappa;†Monika Byrd, Dean of Leadership Development, Phi Theta Kappa; Jennifer Stanford, Dean of Service Learning, Phi Theta Kappa; Dr. Joan Fedor, Honors Consultant, Sun City West, Arizona; Jo Fritts, Social Sciences Representative, Ozarks Technical and Community College, Springfield, Missouri; Dr. Sauda Smith, Humanities Representative, H. Lavity Stoutt Community College, Tortola, British Virgin Islands;† Lisa York, Cultural Studies Representative, Asheville-Buncombe Community College, Asheville, North Carolina;†Dr. Christine Solomon, Trident Technical College, South Carolina; Dr. Johannah B. Williams, Hinds Community College, Mississippi; Glenn Rohlfing, Pikes Peak Community College, Colorado;†and Lara Roemer, Carl Sandburg College, Galesburg, Illinois.

Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi, is the largest honor society in higher education with 1,280 chapters on college campuses in all 50 of the United States, Canada, Germany, Peru, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the British Virgin Islands, the United Arab Emirates and U.S. territorial possessions. Nearly 3 million students have been inducted since its founding in 1918, with approximately 131,000 students inducted annually.