Published on April 13, 2016 by Sean Flynt  
ALD Crest ColorSmall

Samford University inducted 120 freshmen into Alpha Lambda Delta (ALD) freshman honor society April 5. To qualify for ALD, students must be in the top 20% of their freshman class and have at least a 3.5 GPA.  At Samford, the GPA cut-off is 3.8.

Samford geography department chair Jennifer Speights-Binet and Howard College of Arts and Sciences assistant dean Dana Basinger are the faculty sponsors for ALD. 

“I really appreciate the fact that ALD celebrates the first year of college when there are so many challenges and transitions in life,” Speights-Binet said. “By focusing on that first year of college, ALD is acknowledging that education is a journey, and the beginning and middle of the journey are just as important as the end.”

Senior Samuel Hahn was awarded the Maria Leonard Senior Book Award as the senior ALD member with the highest GPA.

New ALD officers installed at the event included the following:

Austin Chapman, president

Ann Potter, sophomore vice president

Jonathan Punt, freshman vice president

Josey Hartley, secretary/webmaster

Founded in 1924 at the University of Illinois, Alpha Lambda Delta today has more than 270 chapters throughout the United States. More than 850,000 students have been initiated into membership since the first chapter was started.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.