University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy Kappa Psi chapter Beta Kappa was awarded Collegiate Chapter of the Year during the national meeting in St. Pete Beach, Florida this past summer. All collegiate Kappa Psi chapters nationally and internationally have the opportunity to compete for the award. The award is based on the chapter’s dedication to both Kappa Psi and the profession of pharmacy. Categories evaluated include: number of service projects conducted within the community, number of members involved in other pharmacy school organizations, number of members that hold leadership positions in other pharmacy school organizations, number of members that have attended a regional, state, or national pharmacy conference, number of members that have attended regional or national Kappa Psi meetings, and number of members that have received National Scholarship Honors certificates.
Some of the Beta Kappa service projects include: volunteering at Family House, Global Links, Relay for Life, Pitt Project Oakland, and making valentines for veterans at the VA hospitals in the Pittsburgh area. Members also participate in the Heart Walk, smoking cessation education clinics, health fairs, and are currently working to put together a program on prescription drug abuse to present in Pitt’s resident halls. This is the third time in the chapter’s history that Beta Kappa has won this award, first in 2002 and in 2007. Advisors for Kappa Psi at the School of Pharmacy are faculty members Deanne Hall ’96 ’98 and Kristine Schonder and alumni Christopher Miller ‘08, Dave Maszkiewicz ‘86, and Erin Lopata ‘08.
