Honors Societies
Phi Kappa Phi
Spring 2007 Initiation Ceremony for fall '06 and spring '07 initiates: The initiation ceremony and reception will be on Tuesday, April 17, 2007, 3-5 p.m., JTSU Auditorium. Initiates should arrive by 2:30 p.m. to check in and pick up their packets of materials for the initiation ceremony.
2007-08 Phi Kappa Phi Award Winners
Honors student Deanne Leonard, Senior in Psychology has been awarded the 2007 Phi Kappa Phi Award of Excellence for Medical School at the University of Nevada, Reno.
2006-07 Phi Kappa Phi Award Winners
Honors student Deanne Leonard, Junior in Psychology has been awarded the Phi Kappa Phi Study Abroad Grant competition for travel to Puebla, Mexico for the June 2006 term. Fluent in Spanish, she will travel to a variety of health care settings both in Mexico and in the United States.
Honors student Michael Berberoglu, Senior in Biology has been awarded the 2006-07 Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Fellowship for graduate studies in cell and developmental biology at University of California, Davis.
Purpose
The primary objective of the national Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is the recognition and encouragement of superior scholarship in all academic disciplines. The Society is convinced that in recognizing and honoring those persons of good character who have excelled in scholarship, in whatever field, it will stimulate others to strive for excellence. Moreover, the Society serves the interests of the student capable of excellence by insisting that in order to acquire a chapter of Phi Kappa Phi, an institution provide the means and atmosphere conducive to academic excellence.
Eligibility
The criteria and limits observed in electing persons to membership are determined by each individual chapter, but always within the framework of the Society's Bylaws. The conditions set forth in the Bylaws may be summarized as follows: Undergraduate students may be considered who have senior status and are scholastically in the upper 10 percent (or less, if the chapter's bylaws so provide) of their class; or who have reached the final period of their junior year and are scholastically in the upper five percent (or, again, less if the chapter's bylaws so stipulate) of their class. In no case, however, may the total number of undergraduates elected in any one year exceed 10 percent of the candidates for graduation in that year.
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Graduate students may be elected, but their number must not exceed 10 percent of the number of candidates for graduate degrees during the year.
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Faculty members and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction may be elected to membership in limited numbers.
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An occasional honorary or distinguished member may be elected by a chapter, with the approval of the Board of Directors.
Membership in Phi Kappa Phi
Admission to the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is by invitation only and requires nomination and approval by a chapter in accordance with the bylaws of both the chapter and the national Society. Both require superior scholarship and good character as criteria for membership.
Phi Kappa Phi is an honor society, not an honorary society or fraternity. Membership is earned; it is a true honor.
Meeting Phi Kappa Phi's criteria signifies excellence which, in turn, signifies distinction.
Because of their outstanding records, members of Phi Kappa Phi often are preferred candidates for grants, scholarships and fellowships from institutions where they may continue their education or do research. When they seek jobs, they find their Phi Kappa Phi membership is widely accepted as an indicator of academic ability and motivation.
Phi Kappa Phi, being interdisciplinary and thus drawing membership from all colleges, divisions, or departments within the academic institution, is a unifying force in education today. It is in a unique position to cultivate consciousness of relationships by bringing together individuals from a variety of disciplines. It promotes the intellectual life of the community.
The academic variety within the Society's membership acquaints initiates with many options if they are in the process of trying to decide upon a career.
Members are eligible for Phi Kappa Phi Fellowships.
Active members receive National Forum: The Phi Kappa Phi Journal enabling them to keep abreast of significant cultural, social and scientific issues.
Active members receive the Newsletter, enabling them to share in the national activities and programs of the Society and of its members.
Members of the Society can participate in activities sponsored by local chapters.
Phi Kappa Phi insists upon high quality in the institutions to which it grants chapters, e.g., strong faculties and ample libraries. It thus fulfills an obligation to assure its initiates that they are coming into a truly significant organization.
Phi Kappa Phi provides for the association of kindred spirits--kindred in the sense of having integrity of character and the highest ideals, as well as an abiding love of learning.
Meetings and Activities
The Society is governed ultimately by the Triennial Convention, supplemented by any interim-though rare-special conventions deemed necessary. Each chapter may send one official delegate to a convention. Between conventions, the business of the Society is conducted by the Board of Directors, composed of 12 directors, of whom nine are elective (president, president-elect, a national vice president, five regional vice presidents, and the immediate past president) and three are appointive (executive director of the Society, regent and director of fellowships). The executive director is in charge of the Society's national office.
Every chapter must hold at least two meetings a year and is encouraged to be active in various ways. Many chapters cite students for excellence as early as the freshman year. Some sponsor an annual Honors Day. Many of them grant awards or give scholarships to students and researchers doing work of scholarly quality. Some also extend recognition to superior teachers. The aim, however, is not to give the recipient something which may encourage complacency, but to challenge the member to continued excellence.
