Editorial Note: This blog post was compiled by Alpha Kappa Delta’s Media Editor, Stephanie Wilson, to celebrate the selfless service of our AKD Council members and give AKD members a glimpse into the governance of the honor society. We hope you enjoy getting to know your AKD Council members!
The Who’s Who of AKD
Welcome to our blog series where we introduce you—our Alpha Kappa Delta members—to AKD Council members who make the decisions behind the scenes!
Alpha Kappa Delta, like many other college honor societies, is a non-profit organization registered as a 501(c)3. As such, it maintains a group of individuals, elected and volunteer, to serve on a council that makes decisions for the organization. As a whole, AKD Council consists of four elected officers, ten chapter representatives, a graduate student representative, and the editor(s) of Sociological Inquiry.
In this blog series, we pull back the curtain on the governance of AKD to share a bit about how things get done around here. Along the way, you’ll also meet many of the AKD Council members who volunteer their time to keep the wheels of AKD turning. Keep reading to learn more from your AKD Vice President, Dr. Gail Murphy-Geiss!
Meet Dr. Gail Murphy-Geiss, Alpha Kappa Delta Vice President
Gail Murphy-Geiss was first inducted into AKD as a faculty member when forming a chapter at Colorado College in 2005. Dr. Murphy-Geiss, having not majored in Sociology in college, had never been a member as a student. During her undergraduate studies, Dr. Murphy-Geiss earned a BA in Music and Religion from Westminster College in Pennsylvania, follow by a MDiv from Boston University, and finally a PhD in Religion and Social Change from the University of Denver.
After starting a chapter at Colorado College and becoming a member of AKD, she became involved in Council when first elected as the Region 8 Representative in 2016. She then served two consecutive terms in that role and later became interim Vice President when the spot opened midyear. Following that interim, Dr. Murphy-Geiss was elected to the Vice President position and is currently serving in that role now.
To learn more about what it means to serve on AKD Council, we reached out to Dr. Murphy-Geiss to ask a few questions. As Vice President, Dr. Murphy-Geiss gives us a glimpse into the inner workings of AKD and what it means to serve on a council that sustains a now century-old honor society. Continue reading below to learn more!
In your own words, can you share the purpose that Council serves for AKD?
The Council oversees the running of the society, which involves reviewing applications for new chapters, and also maintaining the standards by which chapters and students are accepted. We run an annual paper contest, one for undergrads and one for grad students. We recognize the work of outstanding chapters. We also oversee the publication of the journal “Sociological Inquiry”—an excellent resource that I often use in my classes—the work published there is high quality and on a variety of subjects, so great for undergrads with broad interests.
That’s really the main work, [although] we also manage ourselves as council, including nomination of candidates for the council and also the budget, supporting our small staff as well as various long- and short-term programs (such as travel money for student researchers and teaching workshops).
During your time on AKD Council, what have been your main responsibilities?
We all serve on various committees, and some of the most consequential work I’ve done has been as part of the Executive Committee—boring to some, but interesting to me—cleaning up our Constitution and Bylaws to be up-to-date and consistent, and also reorganizing and restructuring over the years, as needed.
My most enjoyable work has been as a member of the Graduate Student Paper Committee—not just reading excellent papers and recognizing new sociologists and their work, but I was also a part of the team that developed a rubric we now use to do the evaluations. Because I teach only undergrads, it is always great fun to see what grad students are doing and see the quality of their work.
What have been some of the most memorable projects, initiatives, or committees that you have worked on during your time with AKD?
Regarding my own chapter, I am proud to say that 15 Colorado College students have won the Undergraduate Paper Contest (either first, second or third) since the first submission in 2008. Every year, students look forward to submitting their senior theses for consideration—we send about 5-6 papers every year.
What do you think motivates you to serve AKD in this service role?
At first, I agreed to serve because I appreciated how meaningful the paper contest was for my students, and I tend to like administrative work, so I agreed to run. I continue to be willing to serve because the work is gratifying and the people are terrific. Everyone is deeply committed to the discipline and to supporting the next generation of sociologists, even beyond our own students, which makes every meeting a great pleasure.
Why should other professors or graduate students consider getting more involved in AKD and potentially serving on Council?
I feel I’ve gotten much more from my participation in AKD than I’ve given. I hope I have contributed as well, of course, but I’d say mostly, it’s the relationships I’ve made that have been the most meaningful. It’s also very interesting to see how things are run behind the scenes – with the society, the journal, etc. Most students will simply add a line to their resumes and perhaps access the journal now and then and that’s it. Even fewer will get travel money or win the paper contest. But all of that takes a team of dedicated educators who are committed to making sure their membership fees are well spent and that the society continues to hold high standards, keeping their membership worthwhile not just when they join, but beyond that time.
It’s definitely quiet, behind-the-scenes work, but it has to be done, and doing it with a group of colleagues I never would have known otherwise makes it not just worthwhile but great fun.
Thank you to Dr. Murphy-Geiss for sharing a bit about the work she and other council members engage in to support AKD. Stay tuned for more blog posts in our Who’s Who of AKD series!