Alpha Pi Mu a registered student organization for industrial engineering students hosted their first annual Welcome Back Brunch on Wednesday, Aug. 24. The event, which was held in the Imhoff Student Center, welcomed back new and returning students to the department. A variety of students, faculty and staff were able to connect over brunch.

Over twenty upperclassmen were in attendance, and members felt the event was successful in exposing a significant number of new IE students to the benefits of membership in Alpha Pi Mu. They look forward to this becoming a tradition in the department, perhaps even moving the event to the "Introduction to Industrial Engineering" class; a course attended by mostly sophomore industrial engineering students.

Alpha Pi Mu was the brainchild of James T. French, who in 1949 was a senior industrial engineering student at Georgia Tech. The Georgia Tech engineers who led the initial developmental work wanted an organization to provide a common ground on which their outstanding young engineers could exchange ideas, and to provide experiences which could help their future professional development.

In 1959, full membership in the Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS) was attained. Alpha Pi Mu is the only nationally accepted industrial engineering honor society, due to its association with ACHS.

Chapters now exist in almost every major university with an accredited industrial and engineering program. There are currently 60 active chapters of the society and a membership of 15,000, with approximately 600 new members being initiated each year. While academic interests and abilities are required for membership, the society's overall goals are much broader.

In 2015, the University of Arkansas Alpha Pi Mu student chapter, with professor Kelly Sullivan as faculty adviser, received the 4th Place Outstanding Chapter Award from the executive council of the national organization.