Honor societies Sociology and criminal justice each have national honor societies which recognize students who have performed well in the respective disciplines. If you are eligible to join the criminal justice honors society (Alpha Phi Sigma) or the sociology honors society (Alpha Kappa Delta), our department will notify you by email in January or February. You can check eligibility requirements by clicking on the links for each society or on the links in the sidebar. Induction into the honor societies occurs at the Department's annual Honor Ceremony in mid-April, which has been held online the past two years, and at The Brownstone Restaurant in Paterson historically. The event is a festive occasion for student inductees, their guests, department faculty and higher-level administrators -- typically the Dean of the College and the Provost of the University. The banquet also typically features a guest speaker. Click here to view the program for the 2023 Honors event. Click here to view the program for the 2022 Honors event. Awards We bestow four awards at our honors ceremony each year. The Paul P. Vouras Sociology Award is given to the sociology major graduating with the highest GPA. Beginning in 2022, the Criminal Justice Academic Award has been given to the CCJ major graduating with the highest GPA. Two Outstanding Student awards are given to students majoring in our respective disciplines to students who have demonstrated exemplary academic performance as well as service to the community. Award winners since 2017 are listed below. Year Paul Vouras Award Criminal Justice Academic Award Outstanding Student in Criminal Justice Award Outstanding Student in Sociology Award 2024 Veronica Bratsos Main campus: Danielle Menta WPO: Kasia Kozak Marilyn Garcia Juliana Kaynak, Rina Rosazza 2023 Claudia Antoci Main campus: Tricia Calabrese* & Taylor Crowley WPO: Nur Anwari & Andrew Crawford Nicole Eppinger, Sarah Parker, Francine Troisi Nicole Caggiano 2022 Skylar Catania Jessica Krzastek Essence Rowe-Privott Vonesa Qira 2021 Jennifer DiVincenzi E. Dena Janos Vanessa Archibold 2020 Kathy Wood Jeffrey Torres Khristian Aviles 2019 Richard Salimbene Dela Amexo Farhat Khan 2018 Matthew Diaz Edita Diunov-Uster Arlethia Kelly 2017 Chaimaa Barki Austin Court Jacqueline Reyes Rebekah Battersby *Awarded at the 2022 ceremony since the student was graduating by the following January.
