Fourteen Ivy Tech Community College-Columbus students who are Bartholomew County residents were inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society for two-year college students, on November 20, 2009, at the Columbus Learning Center. Students inducted are Alena Bates, Scott Cain, Sandra Cottrill, Cande Doty, Amy Dukes, Dereck Fields, Jeremy Headlee, Penney Huntsman, Randi Jackson, Shannon Petro, Patricia Porter-Campbell, Jonathan Portillo, April Straugh, and Michelle Tidwell. All are Columbus residents.
Phi Theta Kappa is the only nationally acclaimed honor society serving two-year colleges offering associate degree programs. Founded in 1918, Phi Theta Kappa currently operates with 1,250 chapters in the United States and abroad. Membership is extended by invitation only. To be considered, a student must be enrolled in a regionally accredited institution offering an associate degree, have accumulated the number of hours used by that college to designate full-time status, have completed at least 12 hours of course work in courses leading to an associate degree, have established a grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 point scale, have established a record of academic excellence as judged by the faculty, be of good moral character, and possess recognized qualities of citizenship.