Alpha Omega Alpha National Honor Society

Alpha Omega Alpha is a national medical honor society which exists to recognize and perpetuate excellence in the field of medicine. As stated in its constitution, "Alpha Omega Alpha is organized for educational purposes exclusively and is not for profit; its aims are the promotion of scholarship and research in medical schools, the encouragement of a high standard of character and conduct among medical students and graduates, and the recognition of high attainment in medical science, practice, and related fields." In fulfilling these aims, the society elects medical students, alumni, and faculty to its ranks. AOA's goals are also reflected in its motto "worthy to serve the suffering."

AOA was founded in 1902 by William Webster Root and five other medical students at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Chicago. In organizing the society, these individuals sought to foster honesty and develop higher ideals of scholastic achievement. Within a decade of founding, chapters were present at seventeen medical schools. The chapter at the University of Iowa (Alpha of Iowa) was established in 1920. The society has continued its steady growth and today counts 124 active chapters in the United States and Canada.

The following guidelines are used at UI for electing new members:

Medical Students

1. Election is limited to those who are scholastically in the upper twenty-five percent of their class, as determined by their accumulative total of semester hours registered as honors and near honors with the Student Affairs Office.
2. The total number of initiates should not exceed one-sixth of the total number expected to graduate in that class.
3. The total number selected for initiation in the spring of their junior year will not exceed one-half of the one-sixth of the total class (i.e., 1/12 of the total class). The remaining one-half of the initiates (one-twelfth of the total class) will be initiated in the fall of their senior year.

Alumni Members

1. Two alumni of the UI may be elected each year.
2. Alumni members must have graduated from UI at least 10 years prior to election.

Faculty Members

1. Two members of UI medical faculty may be elected each year.
2. This initiate may hold either the M.D. or Ph.D. degree.

New initiates receive The Pharos, the quarterly AOA publication, along with a membership certificate.

The Alpha of Iowa chapter officers at present include the following: Donald D. Brown, M.D., Christopher Cooper, M.D., and Rachel Miller, M.D.

The president is elected annually from the group of spring medical student initiates.

Officers

Norah Foster – President
Grant Peterson – Treasurer
Jennifer Halbesleben – Fall Reception Coordinator
Elizabeth Damstetter – Visiting Professor Coordinator
Erica Savage – Spring Banquet Coordinator

Links

Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society (National Site)

Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine
Administration
1216 MERF
Iowa City, Iowa 52242-2600
(319) 335-8278 | Staff directory