Sociology & Criminology

The Student Sociology & Criminology Association is open to everyone interested in the field of Sociology, Criminology, and Sociology/Social Work. The association is a student-run organization which elects its own leadership and provides the opportunity for students to exchange ideas, to interact informally with departmental faculty, and to become involved in the university and local community. Throughout the year, the association sponsors many activities, including guest speakers, field trips, community service, and a variety of social events.

Mission Statement

The purpose of the Student Sociology and Criminology Association and Butler University Chapter of the John Weidner Foundation for altruism is to further the understanding of sociology, criminology, social work, and altruism.

Goals

• Further understanding through activities, lectures and discussions
• Generate awareness of issues in these areas
• Encourage the professional growth of members by providing information on graduate school and other advanced study and careers
• Provide a setting in which social interaction can easily occur among members, faculty, staff and the community
• Involve members within the university and local community through volunteer activities
• Raise funds to support the goals
• At the end of the year, examine the accomplishments and set goals for the future

Association’s Constitution

On April 30, 2006, the Butler Student Sociology Association (SSA) established a University Chapter of the John Weidner Foundation for Altruism. John Weidner was a Dutchman living in France when the Germans invaded in 1940. Over the next five years, with the help of up to 300 like-minded compatriots, he helped approximately a thousand people escape the Germans into safety in Switzerland and Spain. The escapees included American and British downed airmen, Jewish refugees, and Dutch, Belgian, Polish and French citizens fleeing the Germans. John was honored at the end of the war by the Governments of Holland, the United States, Britain, Israel and France. He was also honored at the opening of the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, in 1993.

Learn more.

Athropon Katamannthanein Diakonesin “to investigate for the purpose of service”

Alpha Kappa Delta (AKD) seeks to recognize and to promote “excellence in scholarship in the study of sociology, the research of social problems, and such other social and intellectual activities as will lead to improvement in the human condition.”

Alpha Kappa Delta was founded at the University of Southern California in 1920 by sociologist, Dr. Emory S. Bogardus. Its purpose is to foster scholarship, promote the scientific study of society, and to encourage student and faculty interchange. In 1924, the United Chapters of Alpha Kappa Delta was formed among the United States colleges and universities with the first foreign affiliate occurring in 1930. Alpha Kappa Delta then became affiliated with the Association of College Honor Societies in 1967. Today, more than 490 chapters have been chartered in the United States, Canada, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Finland, and the Philippines. Over 80,000 scholars have been inducted into Alpha Kappa Delta.

The Butler Department of Sociology and Criminology established the Kappa of Indiana Chapter of Alpha Kappa Delta in1989. Throughout the following years, over 100 Butler sociology students have been initiated with most becoming leaders in academe and in professions such as law, social work and criminal justice.

Every spring during the department banquet, current AKD members participate with faculty in honoring and initiating new students who have attained academic excellence in sociology and their overall studies at Butler into the international honor society.