Twenty-nine DeSales University students were inducted into the Delta Sigma Upsilon chapter of TriBeta during a special ceremony on Jan. 28. Held in the school’s University Center, the event marked the first induction ceremony for the new chapter.
TriBeta is a national honor society for biology majors that promotes research, collaboration and community service. The newest chapter’s founding began with outreach by biology major and chapter vice president Batur Yaman ’24 to David Royer, Ph.D., a 1970 DeSales graduate, last fall.
Joshua Slee, Ph.D., head of the Division of Sciences and Mathematics at DeSales, and Austen Barnett, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, are credited with first initiating contact with Royer–who serves as a TriBeta district director–as part of an effort to learn more about the society.
Joshua Slee, Ph.D., head of the Division of Sciences and Mathematics at DeSales, and Austen Barnett, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, stand with DeSales students Amelia Saunders ’24, a biology major and president of the new chapter and biology major and chapter vice president Batur Yaman ’24 at the induction ceremony. (Credit: DeSales University)
Royer, who presided over the ceremony, said he was pleased to return to campus to install the newest TriBeta chapter. He noted that DeSales’ biology department was strong when he was a student, and that it remains a department with high standards. He also expressed confidence that the combination of hardworking students and dedicated faculty advisors will result in an active and productive chapter.
In their first year, TriBeta’s new members will engage in networking and mentorship, such as with a program that pairs them with first-year and sophomore students at DeSales studying biology and neuroscience. Students will also be able to network with other local chapters of TriBeta.
TriBeta members will also engage in community outreach. Among the chapter’s plans is a visit to Liberty Bell Elementary School in Coopersburg to perform science demos with students there.
Amelia Saunders ’24, a biology major and president of the new chapter, said the mentor program is one of the society’s most important efforts.
“The mentor program expands our connections and allows us to put ourselves out there to relate to younger students because we were in their shoes,” Saunders said.
This local news story was reported with generative AI assistance.
