Gamma Theta Upsilon ( or GTU) is an international

honor society In the United States, an honor society is an organization that recognizes individuals who rank above a set standard in various domains such as academics, leadership, and other personal achievements, not all of which are based on ranking systems. ...

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

. It was established in 1928 as a professional fraternity at

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teachin ...

and became international in 1969. Gamma Theta Upsilon is a member of

Association of College Honor Societies The Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS) is a voluntary association of national collegiate and post-graduate honor societies. It was established on December 30, 1925 by six organizations: Alpha Omega Alpha, the Order of the Coif, Phi B ...

History

On May 15, 1928, a local professional

fraternity A fraternity (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...

by the name of

Gamma Gamma (; uppercase , lowercase ; ) is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 3. In Ancient Greek, the letter gamma represented a voiced velar stop . In Modern Greek, this letter normally repr ...

Theta Theta (, ) uppercase Θ or ; lowercase θ or ; ''thē̂ta'' ; Modern: ''thī́ta'' ) is the eighth letter of the Greek alphabet, derived from the Phoenician letter Teth 𐤈. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 9. Gree ...

Upsilon Upsilon (, ; uppercase Υ, lowercase υ; ''ýpsilon'' ) or ypsilon is the twentieth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, has a value of 400. It is derived from the phoenician alphabet, Phoenician Waw (letter), waw ...

was formed at

under the guidance of Dr. R. G. Buzzard. Before that, it was the Geography Club at

Illinois State Normal University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching ...

. After three years, letters were sent out to other geography clubs suggesting the formation of a national fraternity. On May 15, 1931, the organization, consisting of four chapters, was announced. On March 5, 1936, Gamma Theta Upsilon was incorporated, then with ten chapters, as a professional fraternity in geography under the laws of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. The purpose of Gamma Theta Upsilon is: * To further professional interest in geography by affording a common organization for those interested in this field. * To strengthen student and professional training through academic experiences other than those of the classroom and laboratory. * To advance the status of geography as a cultural and practical discipline for study and investigation. * To encourage student research of high quality and to promote an outlet for publication. To create and administer funds for furthering graduate study and/or research in the field of geography. Gamma Theta Upsilon became an International Honorary Geographical Society in January 1969. The organization is a college

became a member of the

in 1976. As of 2012, it had initiated 62,000 members. Gamma Theta Upsilon holds an annual business meeting in conjunction with the Association of American Geographers conference or the National Council for Geographic Education conference. Its headquarters is at

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...

Greenville, North Carolina Greenville ( ; ) is the county seat of and the most populous city in Pitt County, North Carolina, United States. It is the principal city of the Greenville, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, and the List of municipalities in North Carolina, 12t ...

Symbols

The initials of Gamma Theta Upsilon, , represent three Greek words—, , and — meaning earth, sea, and atmosphere respectively. The Gamma Theta Upsilon badge is key in the form of a seven-sided shield, the

bevel A bevelled edge (UK) or beveled edge (US) is an edge of a structure that is not perpendicular to the faces of the piece. The words bevel and chamfer overlap in usage; in general usage, they are often interchanged, while in technical usage, they ...

of which carries on each side the initial of one of the continents of the

earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

. Beginning with

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

at the top, left and going counterclockwise are the symbols for

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

, the Old or Eastern World,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. Across the base of the key are five wavy blue lines, symbolizing the five oceans— the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

, the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

, the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

, the

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

, and the

Antarctic The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antar ...

or Great Southern Ocean. On top of the waves is a white star, symbolic of

Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris (Latinisation of names, Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an ...

which is used for navigation. In the center of the key are the Greek letters . The society's colors are brown for the earth, blue for the oceans, and gold for sunlight.

Chapters

As of December 2012, Gamma Theta Upsilon has chartered 312 chapters and has 163 active chapters.

Activities

Gamma Theta Upsilon publishes the

Geographical Bulletin ''Geographical Bulletin'' is a biannual open-access peer-reviewed academic journal published by the international geographic honor society Gamma Theta Upsilon. It covers all aspects of geography and focuses on student-written and student-led resea ...

, a peer-reviewed

scholarly journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the dissemination, scr ...

twice a year. It annually awards four undergraduate scholarships and one graduate scholarship to geography students. The society also funds the Visiting Geographical Scientist Program, which is administered by the

Association of American Geographers The American Association of Geographers (AAG) is a non-profit scientific and educational society aimed at advancing the understanding, study, and importance of geography and related fields. Its headquarters is located in Washington, D.C. The ...

. The program allows chapters to host a distinguished geographer who presents a lecture on a topic in geography and meets with faculty, students, and administrators.

Membership

Once a chapter has been established, students can be initiated into the society. Initiates must have completed a minimum of three geography courses, must have a GPA of at least 3.3 overall and in geography, and must have completed at least three semesters or five-quarters of college coursework.

Notable members

* Barbara Bedette,

paleontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

* Rebecca Lave, professor of

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

Duane Nellis Marvin Duane Nellis (born July 26, 1954) is an American educator, university administrator, and served as the 21st president of Ohio University in Athens. He was previously the president of Texas Tech University and the University of Idaho. Nelli ...

, president of

Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...

and

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Association of College Honor Societies Geographic societies Student organizations established in 1931 1931 establishments in Illinois

History

Symbols

Chapters

Activities

Membership

Notable members

See also

References

External links