Forty-two undergraduate and MBA students were inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma international business honor society Tuesday afternoon in a ceremony that welcomed honorary inductee Allen E. Gant Jr., a member of the university’s board of trustees and its immediate past chair.
Founded in 1913, Beta Gamma Sigma encourages and honors academic achievement, fosters commitment to honor and integrity, pursuit of wisdom, and earnestness, and encourages lifelong learning. The afternoon program in the LaRose Digital Theatre included the induction of associate professor Larry Garber.
“Membership in Beta Gamma Sigma is the highest academic achievement you can attain as a student in a business school accredited by AACSB International,” said associate professor Susan Manring, the chapter president who welcomed the audience to the ceremony.
AACSB International is the premier worldwide accrediting agency of collegiate business schools and accounting programs.
Gant, CEO of Burlington, N.C.-based Glen Raven, Inc., a global provider of innovative fabric-based solutions, addressed initiates following their induction.
“I personally am a firm believer that your futures are really bright,” Gant said. “If you remember the core values you’ve learned here through Beta Gamma Sigma, then you will succeed.”
After attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Gant joined the family business founded by his grandfather, John Q. Gant. He served the company in numerous capacities before being named CEO and president in 1999.
His reputation earned him a post in the Bush administration’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations. He also served as chair of the National Council of Textile Organizations and the Institute of Textile Technology, and he sat on the board of directors for the North Carolina Textile Foundation, Inc.
Gant was honored in March with the Frank S. Holt, Jr. Business Leadership Award, Elon University’s highest honor for business leadership.
Students inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma on May 11 included the following:
JUNIORS
Virginia Mayer
Katharine Franklin
Trevor Wynn
Brittany Garrett
Samuel Upton
Suji Kim
Jennifer Rossbach
Melissa Bryant
Christopher Kilgore
Andrea Brooke
Gregory Speake
Brenton Rose
Kelly Farrell
Shane Strom
Leah Garzone
Kelsey O’Leary
Stephanie Dorton
Jamie Milliski
Lindsey Smith
Laura Bondi
Daniel Smeaton
SENIORS
Nicholas Leonard
Kimberly Likman
Scott Swedberg
Luke O’Rourke
Kaitlin Marvin
Tracy Catlin
Jennifer Kirts
Kathleen Canavan
Abigail Morlan
Kimberley Campbell
MBA
Daniel Ek
Roger Page
Margaret Currie-Coyoy
Bhanu Das
Victoria Dixon
Kate Panzer
Matthew Toper
Nicole Bodkin
Andrew Wall
Kevin Perks
Keith Ouzts
FACULTY
Larry Garber