History and purpose
Each year the University of Virginia’s Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures honors its outstanding students with initiation into Dobro Slovo, the National Slavic Honor Society. Dobro Slovo was originally founded as a local Slavic honorary society on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley on October 29, 1926. In 1963, with the support of the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages (AATSEEL), Dobro Slovo became the National Slavic Honor Society. The charter of the University of Virginia's Beta Pi chapter was granted in 1982. There are now over 100 local chapters at colleges and universities throughout the country. Dobro Slovo serves to recognize academic excellence in the study of Slavic languages, literature and history and seeks to encourage continuing interest in Slavic studies.
The key (pin)
The name of the society is represented by the two glagolitic letters, Dobro (on the upper left corner of the key), which means beautiful, and Slovo (on the lower right corner), which means "word." The firebird (zharptitsa), a well-known figure from Slavic folk tales, appears on the upper right corner of the key, representing the ancient roots of Slavic culture. The lower left corner of the key, designed to look like a page about to be turned, represents the ongoing search through books and manuscripts in pursuit of greater understanding Slavic Languages, Literatures, and Cultures.
Recent Initiates
2011
Haley Anderson
Nicholas Herbst
Monika Lutostanski
Melissa Jean Schrettner
Lauren Tortorella
2010
Tyrssa Oksana Korduba
Meaghan Hunt Patrick
Laura Anna Sprudzs
Ajdin Muratovic
Lauren Elyse Catlett
Ian Christopher Hollands
Joseph Weston Siler
2009
Alina Zoofarovna Efford
Aleksandra Herbst
Christian Johan Hyland
Megan Leigh Hyler
Rachel Katherine Leary
2008
Emily Catherine Bachman
Danielle Brown
Maria Tchijov
Jane B. Baber
Mark McCartney, Jr.
Erin A. Franklin
Andre C. Grimes
Thomas Edward Wonder
2007
Olivia Milne Brumfield
William Cummings Barratt
Kristina Renee Dorsey
Sarah Elizabeth Forman
Molly P. Harris
Erika Morgan Kappes
Heather Marie Mastapeter
Mariza Matel
Rachel Whitney Mulheren
Alexander Warner Purnell
Elizabeth Retter
Marina Suberlyak
Hannah Woolf