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The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi has announced approval of a new chapter to be installed at Methodist University. Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society.

Once installed, the Methodist University chapter will join more than 300 Phi Kappa Phi chapters in North America and the Philippines. The Society inducts approximately 30,000 new members each year.

The board of directors of Phi Kappa Phi approved Methodist University’s petition for a chapter at its fall board meeting on October 7. Institutions approved for a chapter of Phi Kappa Phi must be a regionally accredited four-year college or university with an established reputation of excellence and an expressed commitment to upholding the values of the Society.

Phi Kappa Phi was founded in 1897 at the University of Maine when student Marcus L. Urann expressed to his dean the desire to create a different kind of honor society—one that recognized excellence in all academic disciplines. Membership in Phi Kappa Phi is by invitation only to the top 7.5 percent of juniors and the top 10 percent of seniors and graduate students, along with faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.

More about Phi Kappa Phi

The Society’s mission is “To recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others.” Since its founding, more than 1.25 million members have been initiated. Some of the organization’s more notable members include former President Jimmy Carter, NASA astronaut Wendy Lawrence, novelist David Baldacci and YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley. The Society has awarded approximately $15 million since the inception of its awards program in 1932. Today, $1.4 million is awarded each biennium to qualifying students and members through graduate fellowships, undergraduate study abroad grants, member and chapter awards, and grants for local and national literacy initiatives. For more information about Phi Kappa Phi, visit www.PhiKappaPhi.org.