Coastal Carolina University's chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma (BGS), the international honor society for collegiate business students, has won the 2009 Silver Chapter Award, an international distinction that includes funds for a new scholarship. The chapter's adviser, management professor Barbara Ritter, received an honorable mention in the year's Outstanding Chapter Adviser Competition.

Henry Lowenstein, dean of the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration, will officially accept the award at the BGS Dean's Luncheon at the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International Conference and Annual Meeting in Orlando, Fla., on April 26.

The University was chosen for this award from among 482 member chapters across the nation. Only business schools accredited by AACSB International may be members of BGS.

"The achievement of this extraordinary award by Beta Gamma Sigma is strong recognition by the international collegiate business academy of the performance and dedication of the Wall College, its students, faculty and our Beta Gamma Sigma chapter leadership," said Lowenstein. "We are extremely honored and proud of this recognition."

The Silver Chapter Award is given to chapters that conduct "programs of significance," according to George E. Stevens, president of Beta Gamma Sigma and dean of the College of Business Administration at Kent State University. The University's chapter will receive $1,250 for a scholarship, which will be awarded to a student who meets the criteria of the BGS scholarship program. The scholarship recipient will be chosen by May 15.

Coastal Carolina University's BGS chapter was established in 1999. The mission of the society is to encourage and honor academic achievement in the study of business and to recognize personal and professional excellence in the practice of business.

The Wall College Beta Gamma Sigma Chapter will conduct its annual induction ceremony on April 14, 2009. This year's 2009 Chapter Honoree will be William Benson, of Conway, vice president of Conway National Bank and chairman of the Wall College Board of Visitors. Benson is being recognized for his years of community leadership and support of the Wall College and Coastal Carolina University.