OC’s history honor society wins first place in national journal competition
Phi Alpha Theta took the top honor in the 2020 Gerald D. Nash Undergraduate Journal Competition.
February 16, 2021
Once again, history students at Oklahoma Christian University have been recognized as some of the most distinguished in the nation. OC Professor of History Matt McCook and his students are members of the Phi Alpha Theta national history honors society. This year, their hard work earned first place at the Gerald D. Nash Undergraduate Journal competition, only the second time OC has ever achieved that feat.
Phi Alpha Theta has 970 chapters and over 400,000 members nationwide that promote historical research and publication. The group’s mission is to study history while uniting professors and students. Colleges that participate in the society can earn various awards and participate in prestigious competitions. The undergraduate journal competition required students to write more than 100 pages of academic articles and research for OC’s “Journal of Historical Studies.”
While the OC history journal has made the top three in the competition several times, this is only the second time for a first-place finish. However, the award is not unexpected since OC’s student group earned the Best Chapter Award multiple times. In 2019, it was named the Best Chapter for the 24th consecutive year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no Best Chapter Awards were given for 2020.
OC students such as Emily Cole, Drew Eckhart, Brighton Frost, Justin McLeckie, Elise Miller, Turner Smith, Haylee Yeats and others produced the journal in 2020. McLeckie and Miller have since graduated.
OC President John deSteiger praised the students and faculty responsible for Phi Alpha Theta’s latest award, affirming his pride in the students for their hard work and success.
The journal’s recent decoration would also make beloved and retired Distinguished Professor of History John Maple proud. After 43 years of service at OC, he left a lasting legacy, having previously sponsored the honor society and handing the baton to McCook.