Sigma Delta Pi Chapter and Faculty Adviser Earn National Awards

Texas Tech University’s chapter of the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society, Sigma Delta Pi, has been named an Honor Chapter for its outstanding activities in 2009-10.  At the national society’s triennial convention in July in Guadalajara, Mexico, Texas Tech’s chapter Alpha Phi also received the Octavio Paz Award, granted to only six chapters nationwide for maintaining “honor chapter” status for the complete triennium 2007-10. This was Texas Tech’s second consecutive Octavio Paz Award.  The faculty adviser for the organization, Comfort Pratt, assistant professor in the College of Education, areas of secondary education and bilingual education, was awarded the prestigious Jose Martel Award, granted once every three years to the country’s most outstanding chapter adviser for a five-year period. Pratt also is a three-time recipient of the national Minaya Álvar Fáñez Award, granted annually to Sigma Delta Pi’s chapter adviser of the year.  Each May, all 575 chapters of Sigma Delta Pi are asked to submit an annual report detailing their numerous activities and projects from the academic year. Based on these reports, the national executive committee chooses approximately 10 honor chapters. The recognition centers on the caliber of chapter projects that reflect the Sigma Delta Pi mission of honoring excellence in the study of the Spanish language, contributing to cultural understanding and upholding the goals of the society.  With its national office at The Citadel in Charleston, S.C., Sigma Delta Pi is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies, the nation’s only certifying agency for college and university honor societies. Find Texas Tech news, experts and story ideas at www.media.ttu.edu. CONTACT: Comfort Pratt, adviser, Sigma Delta Pi, and assistant professor, Secondary Education and Bilingual Education & Diversity Studies, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, (806) 742-1997 ext. 237, or c.pratt@ttu.edu.