By Tim Newton

Want to find a group of top-notch students? Start with highly ranked programs in undergraduate and graduate management. Then take the upper 7 percent of the junior class, the upper 10 percent of the senior class, the upper 20 percent of the graduating master's class, and students who have completed all of the doctoral requirements. Put them all together, and you've got a pretty impressive roster.

Many-faceted leadership -- Prof. Dennis Weidenaar (left), economics, who is also former Krannert dean, is president of Beta Gamma Sigma. With him are International Honoree Michael Birck, a Krannert Dean's Advisory Council member, and Krannert Dean and Leeds Professor of Management Rick Cosier, the Purdue chapter president.

That's exactly what you'll find in Beta Gamma Sigma, a business honor society that recognizes the most outstanding students of business at institutions accredited by AACSB International -- The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

"At a university, we recognize our top faculty with named professorships," says Prof. Dennis Weidenaar (PhD '69), economics, current national president of Beta Gamma Sigma and former Krannert dean. "We can recognize our best management students through membership in Beta Gamma Sigma. It's a lifetime honor."

Long History

Beta Gamma Sigma was founded as a national organization in 1913. Several years later, it was the only scholastic honor society recognized by AACSB. Today, Beta Gamma Sigma has chapters at 365 different colleges and universities and has initiated more than 440,000 members.

Beta Gamma Sigma's mission is to encourage and honor academic achievement in the study of business, and personal and professional excellence in the practice of business. The society's objectives are to:

• Encourage and honor high academic achievements by students of business and management.

• Foster in members an enduring commitment to the society's founding principles and values.

• Support the advancement of business thought, at both the society and chapter levels, so as to encourage lifelong learning for members and other constituents.

• Enhance the value of Beta Gamma Sigma for students and alumni members in their professional lives.

• Enhance the visibility and recognition of Beta Gamma Sigma.

Busy Schedules

Krannert Dean and Leeds Professor of Management Rick Cosier is the president of the Purdue chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma, while Prof. Charlene Sullivan, finance, serves as secretary/treasurer, and Prof. Jack Hatcher, accounting, is the advisor.

Hatcher says that many students are bombarded with offers to join organizations, but Beta Gamma Sigma membership is something students shouldn't pass up.

"Initiation into Beta Gamma Sigma is the most significant form of recognition at Krannert," Hatcher says. "Beta Gamma Sigma ideals, above and beyond academic achievements, are extremely important."

Jen Sanders, a native of Mentone, Indiana, was initiated to Beta Gamma Sigma as a junior in April. She has been involved in the Barbara G. Doster Leadership Forum, the Student-Managed Employers Forum, and several honor societies. Active in her sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha, she also is the vice president for international affairs with the Krannert Student Ambassadors, and she will coordinate the Spring Honors Banquet.

"It was an honor to be initiated into Beta Gamma Sigma," says Sanders, who will represent Purdue at the Beta Gamma Sigma Student Leadership Forum in Baltimore this school year. "It's a great feeling to know that you stand in the upper 7 percent of an outstanding school like Krannert."

It's a position that Hatcher believes carries a certain responsibility.

"I tell our members that they're not just good students, they are our future," he says. "They're among the best of the best, and their intelligence and foresight will help shape what happens in the business world and our society."

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