Three of the new University of Houston-Victoria inductees to Beta Gamma Sigma, Ramakrishnan Sritharan, left, Rohan Thomas and Joseph Babaian, pose with Farhang Niroomand, right, dean of the UHV School of Business Administration. Twenty UHV students were inducted into the international business honor society.

SUGAR LAND – Twenty University of Houston-Victoria School of Business Administration students recently were inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma, the international business honor society.

“I would like to extend my congratulations to the newest members of Beta Gamma Sigma,” said Farhang Niroomand, dean of the UHV School of Business Administration. “The motto of Beta Gamma Sigma is recognizing business excellence. Based on what they have accomplished in the classroom, the students inducted have proven they are among the best and brightest.”

UHV began inducting students to Beta Gamma Sigma in 2007. A total of 141 UHV students and alumni are members.

The mission of Beta Gamma Sigma is to encourage and honor academic achievement in the study of business and to foster personal and professional excellence. To be inducted, students must be in the top 10 percent of their junior or senior class or the top 20 percent of their class in the last year of their graduate program.

Beta Gamma Sigma is the international honor society serving business programs accredited by AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. UHV is one of fewer than 5 percent of business schools in the world to be accredited by the association.

“The members of Beta Gamma Sigma are truly the best of the best,” said Massomeh Hajilee, an assistant professor of economics and UHV’s faculty adviser for the group. “Because of the high standards for inclusion and the fact that only students from AACSB-accredited schools can become members, it’s a significant honor to be inducted and can lead to some great networking opportunities.”

Beta Gamma Sigma members receive honor society publications and access to the society’s job board. They also are eligible for scholarships, and there’s an alumni network program.

The honor society has inducted more than 700,000 students into membership since starting in 1913. There are more than 500 college chapters, encompassing all 50 states and 22 countries. Once inducted, students are lifetime members.

“We encourage students and alumni who previously have been invited to consider joining the honor society, Hajilee said. “We hope to have another large group of inductees next year.”

The new members and their hometowns are:

Ashley Winegeart, Corpus Christi
Mark Payne, Cypress
John Finnegan, Fulshear
Abhijat Prabhu Parrikar, Goa, India
Stephen Ip, Irving
Timothy Aramburo, Houston
Jill Aremband, Houston
Joseph Babaian, Houston
Wesley Fangman, Houston
Lashantae Reeves, Houston
Rohan Thomas, Houston
Nana Liu, Katy
Jon Stokes, Katy
Shawn Harrigan, La Porte
Jeffrey Anderson, Missouri City
Ursala Tul-Jamil, Richmond
John Anthony Serrano, Stafford
Ramakrishnan Sritharan, Sugar Land
Huynh Tuan, Sugar Land
Stephen Thomas, Waxahachie

For more information about Beta Gamma Sigma, contact UHV student advising coordinator Angela Green at 281-275-3027 or greena@uhv.edu.