Dr. Richard Hirsh, Professor of History, was the recipient of the 2002 Sturm Award for Excellence in Faculty Research. Professor Hirsh was recognized for his book, Power Loss, a study of the deregulation and restructuring of the electric utility system. Hirsh's analysis helps provide crucial insights into some very recent events such as the power shortages in California and the Enron debacle. In Power Loss, Hirsh joins together a number of disciplinary areas - history, political science, engineering, law and economics - to produce an impressive work that is greater than the sum of its parts. In addition, Professor Hirsh provides 100 pages of notes that give useful explanations, mini-tutorials, historical vignettes, gentle reminders, and deep background, making the book accessible to a wide scholarly and public audience.

The Sturm Award is named for and endowed by the late Albert L. Sturm, a University Research Professor in Political Science and a founding member of the Mu of Virginia chapter. It honors scholarship by Virginia Tech faculty members in the College of Arts and Sciences that contributes significantly to the advancement of liberal learning. The recipient receives an engraved plaque and a cash award at the spring initiation ceremony. The department of the recipient displays a second plaque which rotates each year and lists all the recipients of the award.

Members and guests meet twice yearly for scholars luncheons. On October 26, 2001, Dr. Terry Kershaw, Chair of the Center for Interdisciplinary studies, spoke on "Interdisciplinarity and the Liberal Arts". On March 20, 2002, Dr. Thomas Gardner, Professor of English and winner of the 2001 Sturm Award, entitled his talk, "'Heavens, I Recognize the Place': Elizabeth Bishop's Poetry." Dr. Gardner was also the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship this spring. The press release is attached and can also be found at http://www.spectrum.vt.edu/06-07-02/st3.html.

Gift certificates from the University Bookstore and award certificates were presented to top students at the four county high schools. At the awards ceremony of each school, a brief introduction to Phi Beta Kappa is given to the assembled parents and students when the student receives his/her award. Selected students have broad cultural interests and/or notable accomplishments in the arts and sciences, a minimum grade point average of 3.6/4.0 (excluding vocation and physical education courses), and are of good character. A 1999 recipient of a book award was initiated into our Phi Beta Kappa chapter this spring.

The chapter awarded a $250 Stephen Baehr scholarship to a rising junior, Katie Hancock, a biology major in the University Honors Program. The scholarship is named in memory of one of our supportive chapter members, Dr. Stephen Baehr, professor of Russian and chair of the Russian Studies Program in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. Dr. Baehr died in June 2000.

The chapter conducted its first fall initiation on December 14, 2001. Eighteen graduating seniors were elected and 17 accepted our invitation. We were very pleased with this acceptance rate. Usually fall graduates do not respond to our invitation in the spring since they are no longer at the university.