Phi Kappa Phi Chapter Honors 1999 Presidential Award Winners

The Ithaca College chapter of Phi Kappa Phi presented its annual presidential scholar awards to four students in November. This year's awardees were junior Hans VanDerSchaaf and seniors Brin Tucker, Karin Chun Taite, and Dylon Curatolo.

Named after distinguished faculty members who have served as presidents of the Ithaca chapter, the awards are made to students achieving the highest level of academic performance combined with exceptional breadth of interest and outstanding community service. The average grade point average of the award winners is 4.02.

Hans VanDerSchaaf is the 1999 Shirley O. Hockett scholar. A business administration major with a concentration in international business, he is minoring in music performance. He is a member of the Ithaca College Chamber and Symphony Orchestras, the Community Service Network, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and the Ultimate Frisbee team. He works with a variety of Office of Admission programs and is a peer leader in the Office of First Year Programs and Orientation. Shirley Hockett was named professor emerita of mathematics in 1993.

Brin Tucker is the 1999 John Bernard scholar. A December 1999 graduate and Park scholar, Tucker majored in organizational communication, learning, and design and minored in Spanish. As a peer leader in the Office of First Year Programs and Orientation, she helped mentor incoming students and worked in that office as an orientation leader in the summer of 1998. She also took part in accepted-student phonathons and served as both a class and overnight host for the Office of Admission. She spent the fall semester studying in Valencia, Spain. John Bernard is a professor in the biology department.

Karin Chun Taite is the 1999 John B. Harcourt scholar. She is a double major in theater arts and English. Her English honors dissertation attempted to integrate the critical approaches to literary works and theatrical performances. She has been the stage manager for two Ithaca College Theatre productions. John Harcourt was named Dana professor of English emeritus in 1987.

Dylon Curatolo is the 1999 M. Raquibuz Zaman scholar. An accounting major and an economics minor, he interned with the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Georgia and with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. His community activities include the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program and the Tompkins County Search and Rescue Team. Raquibuz Zaman is Dana professor of finance.

Founded in 1897, Phi Kappa Phi is a national honor society that recognizes and encourages superior scholarship in all disciplines of higher education. The Ithaca College chapter began in 1977 and now has a membership of some 62 faculty, administration, and staff and 51 currently enrolled students. Students are selected from the upper 5 percent of second-semester juniors and the upper 10 percent of seniors.

For more information visit the Phi Kappa Phi Web site.