COD professor named 2011 Phi Theta Kappa Faculty Scholar

For the third consecutive year, College of DuPage Speech Professor Steve Schroeder has been selected as a Phi Theta Kappa Faculty Scholar.

Schroeder is one of 25 community college instructors from 17 states and the British Virgin Islands to receive this honor. As a Faculty Scholar, Schroeder will serve as a discussion facilitator for the 2011 Honors Institute.

“It's an incredible honor, because I believe so strongly in the missions of Phi Theta Kappa and the Honors Institute,” said Schroeder, a Warrenville resident who has taught Speech Communication at College of DuPage for nearly 19 years.

Schroeder is currently co-adviser for College of DuPage's Phi Beta chapter, one of the largest Phi Theta Kappa chapters in the nation. In addition to being listed as one of the Top 100 Phi Theta Kappa chapters worldwide, COD's chapter received a Scholarship Hallmark Award in 2008, which recognizes excellence in planning and implementing scholastic activities and programming. Schroeder was one of 30 individuals nationwide to receive the 2009 Advisor Hallmark Award.

This year's Phi Theta Kappa Faculty Scholars were selected based on demonstrated excellence in teaching and knowledge of the current Honors Study Topic, “The Democratization of Information: Power, Peril and Promise.”

Schroeder is also a member of Phi Theta Kappa's Honors Program Committee, which makes recommendations to headquarters staff about the new Honors Study Topic every two years and assists with the compilation of the Honors Program Guide.

To prepare for his role as a Faculty Scholar, Schroeder attended the annual Faculty Scholar Conference Feb. 2 to 6, which is sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities at Phi Theta Kappa's Center for Excellence in Jackson, Miss.

The 2011 Honors Institute will take place June 13-17 at Boston University. During the conference, Schroeder and fellow Faculty Scholars will lead groups of 15 to 20 honor students in discussions on issues presented throughout the week.

Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, the international honor society for two-year colleges, is the largest honor society in higher education, with 1,250 chapters in all 50 states and several international locations. More than two million students have been inducted into Phi Theta Kappa since its founding in 1918, and approximately 100,000 students are inducted annually.

For more information, call (630) 942-2370, e-mail kleeman@cod.edu.