From Global Learning to Leadership: UNC Charlotte Hosts Phi Beta Delta’s Landmark 40th Anniversary Conference

UNC Charlotte hosted the 40th Anniversary Conference of the Phi Beta Delta (PBD) Honor Society for International Scholars on June 1 and 2 this year.  UNC Charlotte has hosted a chapter of PBD, the Mu Chapter which was one of the first 38 chartered chapters, since 1987. 

Phi Beta Delta, founded at California State University, Long Beach in 1986, was established as an organization in 1987. It is the first honor society dedicated to recognizing scholarly achievement in international education. As of April 2026, more than 210 chapters have been chartered.

The 40th Anniversary PBD Conference was led by the PBD International President, Dr. Erik Jon Byker. Dr. Byker is a professor in the Honors College and the Cato College of Education at UNC Charlotte. His presidential address was entitled, “Celebrating 40 Years of Phi Beta Delta: Advancing Global Knowledge through Learning, Unlearning, and Relearning.” The PBD Conference Student Leadership team organized and made sure the conference was a success. The PBD Conference Student Leadership included Mu Chapter members: Divya Agarwal, Saran Jolly, Mikayla King, and Mallory Schwarz. 

The conference included a variety of sessions focused on international education and related scholarship.  Highlights include the plenary speaker Emily Francis (a UNC Charlotte alum) who spoke on the following topic:  “From Language Learner to Global leader:  Advancing Knowledge through Identity, Language and Education.”  Other highlights of the conference include sessions focused on international education including “AI and its Implications for Collaborative Online International Education: A Rapid Review”, by Dr. Judith Cornelius from the Mu Chapter at UNC Charlotte and “Advancing Global Knowledge and Learning Through Leadership Resilience” by Dr. Marcia Sun from the Epsilon Upsilon chapter at Oklahoma State University. Additionally, 12 UNC Charlotte undergraduate students presented, moderated sessions, and helped to organize the conference. Thank you to UNC Charlotte’s Office of Undergraduate Research for their support of the undergraduate students to participate in the conference.

During the conference, a number of awards were presented including a special award to Ms. Marian Beane, who was instrumental in starting and maintaining the Mu Chapter in 1987 and throughout her career at UNC Charlotte.  The Mu Chapter won 2026 The Eileen Evans Outstanding Chapter Award. This is the fifth time the Mu Chapter has been recognized with the outstanding chapter award. Dr. Joseph Hoff, Coordinator of the Mu Chapter, won the 2026 Edward S. Blankenship Outstanding Staff Award.  

This year’s conference included a special induction ceremony to the Mu Chapter including Dr. Jennifer Troyer,  Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs; Dr. Noha Ghali, Teaching Professor, Coordinator and Advisor of Arabic Studies and four UNC Charlotte students. 

At UNC Charlotte, the Mu Chapter’s members include faculty, staff and students who are interested in promoting and advancing international education efforts at UNC Charlotte. In addition to the Chapter Coordinator, the current Board includes Dr. Vaughn Schmutz, President; Dr. Donald Cross, Vice-President; Jillian Gran, Events Coordinator and Deana Pendragon, Student Vice-President.  Please visit the Mu Chapter website and the International Phi Beta Delta website for more information.