Walden University Student Group Receives Prestigious Award From World's Largest HR Association

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has presented Walden University with a 2015–2016 Student Chapter Merit Award for providing superior development opportunities to its SHRM student chapter members. Walden was one of 163 winners from schools across the U.S.

The SHRM Student Chapter Merit Award Program, which began in 1972, was created to encourage student chapters to promote ongoing excellence in the following areas: student chapter requirements, chapter operations, chapter programming and professional development of members, support of the human resource profession, and SHRM engagement.

"These chapters truly represent the future of the HR profession," said Susan Post, SHRM-SCP, east divisional director and the lead for student programs at SHRM. "Their achievements go above and beyond their everyday academic and work commitments, and we applaud the positive impact their efforts have on their schools, their local communities and beyond."

SHRM student chapters have the opportunity to earn an award based on the number of activities they complete during the merit award cycle (which lasted from April 1, 2015, to March 31, 2016, this year). Walden's SHRM chapter had a large spike in membership this past chapter year. The chapter began a recruitment drive, added a communications director position and started a newsletter. The chapter ended the year with a webinar by national SHRM Field Services Director Nancy Conway, on the future of HR.

"This is an outstanding accomplishment and one that the Walden student chapter leaders have worked on very diligently. We have a lineup of solid programming for the upcoming year that will offer value and aim to bridge the gap between students and professionals in the field of human resources," said Dr. Amy Puderbaugh, the chapter's faculty advisor from Walden's School of Management.

SHRM is the world's largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 285,000 professional and more than 20,000 student members in more than 165 countries, the association serves the needs of HR professionals and advances the interests of the HR profession.

For more information about SHRM's Student Chapter Merit Award Program, visit www.shrm.org/Communities/StudentPrograms/Pages/awards.aspx.