Academic Year 2011-2012


The Peak
A newsletter of Pinnacle, the nontraditional honor society.


First and foremost, please note our mailing address. We are based in Columbia, Missouri, the home of the University of Missouri, Stephens College, and Columbia College. The immediate area is home to another half-dozen institutions of higher learning. Our address is 501 Cedar Lane, Columbia, MO 65201. The telephone number is (573) 289-8868. However, the best way to stay in touch with us is through this Website, since we check our e-mail constantly. Just e-mail us at <office@pinnaclespire.org>.

Be sure and place word Pinnacle or Spire in the subject box of your email so our heavy-duty spam filter knows to let your message through its screen.

We have been recommending to our chartered institutions that they e-mail their List of Honorees to us prior to mailing us the list and the students' Personal Data Sheets. When you e-mail, please let us know the date by which you need the certificates, pins, and diploma seals. We will choose our mailing method based on your deadline. Please also make sure that the names on the list are spelled properly and are exactly in the form that the recipients want their names to appear on their certificates. Our usual form of response is the United States Postal Service Priority Mail, although we use UPS when speed is of the utmost importance. Our usual turn-around time is 24-48 hours.


As our chartered institutional members know, Pinnacle has had a close relationship with ANTSHE, the Association for Non-Traditional Students in Higher Education, since its founding. ANTSHE is comprised of non-traditional students and professionals who work with this unique student population. The organization's mission is to "encourage and coordinate support, education, and advocacy for the adult learning community." ANTSHE members hold an annual conference which moves around the country each year. The last two conferences were held in Georgia and New Hampshire. The next conference will be hosted by our friends and longtime Pinnacle members at Eastern Kentucky University located just south of the Lexington horse country in Richmond, Kentucky. The dates are March 23-24, 2012. We encourage you to get involved in this valuable organization. We hope to see you in Kentucky!


Another organization important to non-traditional student services is CAEL, the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning. CAEL is a non-profit organization committed to providing better access to education for adults, through partnerships with business, government, labor, and higher education. It also holds an annual conference with sessions designed to help institutions do a better job of attracting and serving adult students.

CAEL publishes a number of books to assist members in their work, including Principles of Effectiveness for Serving Adult Learners, which provides a flexible framework of policies and practices that help make educational programs more attractive and accessible to adult learners. For several years CAEL has also published Best Practices in Adult Learning. Again, membership in CAEL can be of great value to you and your institution. CAEL holds an annual International Conference during the fall semester and also holds Webinars on topics of interest to you for a fee or free to members. Check their Website for further information.


Speaking of innovative ways of serving adult students, if your Pinnacle chapter has taken on an interesting project, created some new service, succeeded in changing institutional or local policies to benefit adult students, or succeeded in other ways in making life a little bit better or easier for non-traditional students, please let us know about it. Our office often serves as a conduit for good ideas from around the country. Sometimes we even feature such innovations in this newsletter.


We are always heartened by newspaper clippings of all the wonderful projects Pinnacle chapters undertake and by the personal accomplishments of individual members. Every month brings clippings, photographs, and feature stories from local and campus newspapers. We love that stuff, so keep sending it! We also enjoy scanning the many Websites which have been created by Pinnacle chapters. It's clear that some of the best Web-based ideas are being widely adopted these days.



Every year we are overwhelmed by the accomplishments of our honorees. Here are just a few highlights from the honorees for last year:

  • We honored more future doctors and nurses, medical technologists, EMTs, and other health professionals than in any previous year.
  • Among the honorees were police officers, fire fighters, EMTs, and small town public servants.
  • Among the honorees were a rapidly growing number of men and women serving the country in the armed services.
  • There were a growing number of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, including some who were wounded in service to their country.
  • It appeared that more honorees were interested in teaching careers than in previous years and fewer were pointing their careers at the business world.
  • We also noted an uptick in the number of honorees who are aimed at other helping professions, such as counseling, home healthcare, and various aspects of gerontology.
  • Several honorees were running their own online businesses.
  • As in past years, there was a huge number of Pinnacle and Spire honorees who are not only single parents and full-time students, but they have somehow found the time to remain extremely active in their children's lives and activities. Just reading their resumes exhausts us!
  • As in past years, we had a number of senior citizens among our honorees. Some were earning their first degrees, while others were starting new careers.
  • Some of our more accomplished honorees were either international students or first generation American citizens.
  • A few honorees' accomplishments were especially heartwarming because they had overcome severe disabilities.
    Stay in touch and continue your Good Work!