School of Business & Technology
Professional and Honor Societies Promote Lifelong Learning

The School of Business & Technology hosted a two-part event on Thursday, July 8, during the College’s Commencement activities — the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Student Branch charter presentation and the Alpha Nu Sigma Honor Society induction ceremony, which included the conferral of the first annual Dr. Robert L. Long Award for Academic Excellence in Nuclear Engineering Technology.

IEEE Charter Ceremony

In her opening remarks, Dean Jane LeClair spoke of the School’s commitment to providing professional development opportunities for its students, affording them the ability to “connect with other students in the same professions and to gain an understanding of the importance of professional development in our society.”

As the first distance learning institution to host an IEEE student branch, the College received its official charter during the ceremony and welcomed new members. Keynote speaker William Clark, past president of ABET and a long-time member of both IEEE and the School of Business & Technology’s Electronics Industrial Advisory Committee, presented the charter on behalf of IEEE and offered an illuminating presentation, “Professional Societies and Service,” about the rewards of membership in a professional association. “Your learning never stops. Professional societies are a great way to continue your education once you graduate,” he advised. “And if there ever was a group that exemplified lifelong learning, it would have to be Excelsior students.” Several students, including Norman Thompson, this year’s student branch president, attended the charter ceremony as did staff and faculty, including Dr. Sohail Anwar, lead faculty member of the Electronics Engineering Technology program and Mr. James Antonakos, program director. Dr. Anwar and Mr. Antonakos are faculty co-advisors for the student branch.

A leading professional association for the advancement of technology, IEEE is a global organization and authority on areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and tele- communications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics, among other fields. Excelsior’s student branch membership is open to any enrolled student interested in electronics engineering and electronics/instru- mentation technologies. The College covers the cost of the annual student membership fee. And, because IEEE has partnered with Excelsior College to offer educational opportunities to its members, substantial discounts on course tuition and program fees are a benefit of membership.

Alpha Nu Sigma Induction

Part two of the event was the second annual induction of the Excelsior College chapter of the Alpha Nu Sigma Nuclear Honor Society. Twelve new members were honored for academic excellence in the area of nuclear engineering technology and welcomed into the chapter. Dr. Eric Loewen represented the American Nuclear Society. Chief consulting engineer, advanced plants