Clarksville, TN – On Thursday afternoon, members of Austin Peay State University’s Phi Alpha Theta (PAT) history honor society unveiled the third volume of its popular scholarly journal, Theta-Delta, during a ceremony in Harned Hall. The slim, red booklet might at first resemble the previous two editions of the journal, which features academic papers by APSU history students, but co-editor-in-chief Deanna Carter pointed to the masthead to show how this volume was different.
The names of several APSU history faculty members now serve on the journal’s editorial board. Dr. Jason Verber, assistant professor of history, also shared editor-in-chief duties with Carter.
“This is the new and improved Theta-Delta,” Carter said. “We just wanted to make it better. We had a lot more faculty editors and assistant editors and proofreaders. This is really coming together as a premier work.”
The idea of creating a scholarly publication began about three years ago when Dr. Minoa Uffelman, associate professor of history at APSU, saw a copy of Murray State University’s history journal. She then challenged her students to develop a similar publication, which they did by using scholarly magazines such as The Journal of Southern History as a model.
PAT members solicited scholarly papers from their peers and asked for recommendations from faculty members. The editorial board ultimately selected six strong works, focusing on a diverse range of historical topics such as Maya civilizations to women maintaining the home front during the Civil War. The third volume was also partly funded by a grant from the APSU Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR).
“This journal exemplifies the mission of the Office of Undergraduate Research by providing students an outlet for their scholarly achievements,” Dr. Christopher Gentry, OUR director, said.
APSU President Tim Hall also praised the organization’s efforts in a letter printed at the front of the journal.
“I could not be more pleased than I am at how the Theta Delta Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta continues to flourish on campus,” he wrote. “The scholarly efforts represented by the Theta-Delta journal are one evidence of that flourishing.”
A limited number of printed versions of the journal were distributed among faculty and students last week. For more information on the journal or PAT, contact Dr. David Rands, the chapter’s adviser, at randsd@apsu.edu.
