18 February, 2003
Dear HSU Faculty & Staff,
The HSU chapter of Sigma Xi invites you to join our chapter in order to enhance the level of scientific scholarship in our community, particularly for students. As many of you already know, benefits of Sigma Xi membership (http://www.sigmaxi.org/) include receiving American Scientist, which is a bimonthly illustrated magazine containing reviews of current research, as well as a variety of other topics such as career paths in science, environmental justice, and educational policy initiatives. In addition, the Grants-in-aid of Research Program (Spring and Fall deadlines) is available to undergraduate and graduate students. Individual awards are up to $1000, and most of these awards are given to students whose supervisors are Sigma Xi members, or the students are members themselves.
The HSU chapter of Sigma Xi (http://www.humboldt.edu/~sigmaxi/) has sponsored a wide range of campus seminars since 1993. Last spring, the Chapter decided to embark on a new project to increase opportunities for students to communicate their research to the university community. In our exploration of the many possibilities for the chapter to expand its contribution to campus scholarly life, we identified an undergraduate and graduate student poster competition as an unfilled niche. We feel the poster session will attract more students to science, and will help build greater understanding of the diverse scientific community at HSU. The above web site has a complete description of this student poster competition.
If you would like to become a member, then you need to fill out a form, pay a fee, and if at all possible meet your colleagues at a low key induction ceremony that will be held on Friday, May 9, at 3:00PM in Goodwin Forum. Email Frank Shaughnessy (fjs3@humboldt.edu) in order to get the membership form, and please mail your check made out to “HSU Sigma Xi” to Frank Shaughnessy in the Department of Biological Sciences; the form and check should be received by Monday, May 4. As a non-student, your annual dues will be $70.00 ($55.00 is the national fee, a small part of which comes back to our chapter, + $15.00, which is a chapter fee, recently approved by vote, in order to support the student poster competition; students are not assessed this fee). The induction fee of $7.50 is paid by the HSU chapter of Sigma Xi, not you.
The HSU chapter of Sigma Xi needs your ideas and energy to grow. Please give some serious thought to this invitation. If you have any questions, please email our current chapter President, Susan McBride (scmcbride@ucdavis.edu). Thanks!