The following text is reprinted from the conclusion to An Oral History of Psi Chi, and consists of some concluding thoughts from authors Stephen F. Davis, PhD, and Michael Wertheimer, PhD, in summary of the results of the compiled oral history:

The factual account of Psi Chi's history presented at the beginning of this book traces the growth of the organization from the dream of two students at the University of Kansas in 1927 to an organization that had over 252,000 members by the early 1990s. By the dawning of the Millennium, Psi Chi has grown from the 22 charter chapters to 944 chapters and 363,316 members. Its growth has truly been phenomenal! This impressive growth pattern does not, though, provide much information about the nature of the people who helped propel Psi Chi to its present position of prominence as a respected national honor society. Do these individuals share certain common characteristics that benefited Psi Chi? The oral histories that make up the bulk of this volume make it clear that the answer is yes. The following tentative conclusions and generalizations appear warranted from the information provided by the interviewees.

1. The National Officers Have Been Hardworking, Active, and Dedicated. To a person, the national officers of Psi Chi have been hardworking individuals who dedicated themselves to both Psi Chi and their chosen profession. Consider, for example, Aaron Q. Sartain, who was still actively sought after as a labor-relations mediator at age 90. Likewise, the desire to make Psi Chi the strongest possible organization permeates all of the interviews. The development of strong Psi Chi programs at the national APA convention and at the six regional conventions was a high priority for all interviewees.

2. They All Value Education Highly. All of the interviewees highly value educational accomplishments. They value the process of education and the benefits it can bring. In this context, it is interesting to note that many of the interviewees were firstgeneration college students. Perhaps this status helped facilitate their appreciation of the value of education.

3. Student Orientation Characterizes All of Them. All of the interviewees are student-oriented people. The national and local officers of Psi Chi have striven to make the organization relevant to its student members and their needs. Chapter programs conducted at the local level were designed to meet the specific needs peculiar to the individual chapters and their members. Likewise, Psi Chi programs presented in conjunction with the meetings of regional and national psychological associations have been, and continue to be, designed to provide students with the best speakers and the most relevant information and experiences possible. In addition to the presentation of strong, informative programs, two awards programs were developed: the J. P. Guilford Award for outstanding undergraduate research and the Newman Graduate Award. Clearly, self-ingratiation was not a motive that characterized the interviewees.

4. Ruth Cousins Played a Crucial Role. The number of times that Ruth Hubbard Cousins was mentioned—and praised—by the interviewees provides a small indication of her role in the history of Psi Chi. The esteem (even reverence) reflected in these comments indicates her perceived importance to the organization. The assertion that Ruth (and her children!) devoted their lives to Psi Chi is amply documented. She succeeded in building Psi Chi into a strong and highly respected organization. Her significant accomplishments included changing Psi Chi from an honorary organization to a national honor society, and putting Psi Chi on a strong financial footing.

5. Psi Chi Has an Exciting Future. Once Ruth Cousins and the National Council established Psi Chi on a solid financial base and money became a less pressing issue, attention turned toward developing additional student-oriented initiatives. This theme clearly runs through the interviews with more recent National Council members.... The interviews that comprise the bulk of this book indicate clearly that Psi Chi has been guided by interesting, interested, dedicated, and hardworking people during its first 70 years. There is no reason to expect anything less from the next 70 years.