Lee University’s Pi Sigma Alpha chapter has received the Best Chapter Award for the 2025-2026 season from the national political science honor society.

The Best Chapter Award is intended to recognize local chapters that are particularly active in their institutions and communities and embody our society’s mission to stimulate scholarship and intellectual interest in political science,” said Tanya Schwartz, executive director of Pi Sigma Alpha.

The Political Science Department at Lee has run its own chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha for 24 years, and the 2025-2026 season is the eighth year that Lee’s chapter has been awarded Best Chapter.

Dr. Thomas Pope, professor of political science, Dr. Mark Scully, associate professor of political science, and Dr. Ana Shippey, associate professor of political science, are the faculty members who run this chapter alongside the student officers.

“This award reflects the energy and thoughtful engagement of our officers and majors in helping to promote civic discourse in our campus and community,” said Shippey. “It also speaks to the ability of our upperclassmen to consistently pass down our tradition of service to campus and community to our underclassmen, as this is our eighth award, testifying of the formative nature of participating in Pi Sigma Alpha.”

To accompany the win, the Lee chapter received a $500 cash prize. The group’s achievement will be announced across Pi Sigma Alpha’s digital platforms and will be featured in the American Political Science Association’s magazine, Political Science Today.

“I am very proud of Pi Sigma Alpha’s recent award,” said Jackson Miley, a senior political science major and president of Pi Sigma Alpha for 2025-2026. “For eight years, our chapter’s commitment to academic excellence and interdepartmental fellowship has been recognized as exceptional, and I think that is a reflection of the dedication of both students and faculty at Lee.”

Claire Davis, a senior political science major, has recently been appointed as Pi Sigma Alpha’s president for 2026-2027.

For more information on Pi Sigma Alpha, contact the Department of History, Political Science, and Humanities at (423) 614-8137 or [email protected].