A reception will follow in the Campus Life Center Ballroom. Members of the organization include scholars and respected leaders, such as Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, United States presidents, and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.

“A chapter of Phi Kappa Phi at USCS will make it possible for outstanding students to affiliate with 700,000 other outstanding students from all academic disciplines, for outstanding students to apply for more than $600,000 in scholarships funded by the national organization, and for students and faculty to participate in regional and national conferences,” said John C. Stockwell, chancellor of USC Spartanburg.

Wendell McKenzie, national president of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, will install the USC Spartanburg Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi. He is an alumni distinguished professor of genetics at North Carolina State University. McKenzie earned a B.A. degree in biology at Westmar College in LeMars, Iowa, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in genetics from North Carolina State University.

Phi Kappa Phi is dedicated to the recognition and promotion of academic excellence in all fields of higher education. Founded at the University of Maine in 1897, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest and largest all-discipline honor society. Chapters are currently located on the campuses of more than 280 colleges and universities in the United States, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico. Chapters in South Carolina are at Clemson University, Winthrop University, College of Charleston, Francis Marion University, and the Citadel.

Benefits of membership for faculty, staff, and administrators include affiliation with members worldwide in all disciplines. Special grant opportunities for faculty include the Literacy Initiative Grant Competition and the Phi Kappa Phi Promotion of Excellence Grants Program. Presented every three years, the National Scholar Award and the National Artist Award honor faculty who demonstrate the ideals of Phi Kappa Phi through their activities, achievements, and scholarship. Awardees receive $10,000 honoraria and an active-for-life Membership.

The Scholar Award recognizes excellence in teaching, research, and public service. The Artist Award recognizes the achievements of members who, in addition to their outstanding scholarship, have displayed talents in the broad realm of the arts-creative, graphic, performing, visual, and/or fine arts. Each of Phi Kappa Phi's five regions conducts its own competitions to select a Phi Kappa Phi Regional Scholar and Artist. Recipients receive a $1,000 honorarium and active-for-life membership.

"USC Spartanburg is about academic excellence, and the presence of a prestigious national honor society on campus gives our students an opportunity for national recognition for academic accomplishment,” said Judith Prince, interim executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at USC Spartanburg. “It is my hope that all students who enter USC Spartanburg will place the highest priority on learning and will aspire to membership in Phi Kappa Phi.”

Basic institutional requirements for a chapter include:

• a minimum of a five-year history of granting baccalaureate or higher degrees

• a minimum of 66 percent of the full-time, tenured, or tenure-track faculty with the doctorate or other appropriate terminal degree

• library collections that include materials of appropriate quality and quality to support instructional, research, and service programs

• a reputation for excellence in degree-granting programs throughout the institution as verified by regional accreditation reports and professional accreditations

• a determination to encourage scholarship as evidenced by programs, projects, and activities underway at the institution

• demonstrated excellence in the performance of the faculty and students, including recognition by peer groups

• a diversity of disciplines represented by degree programs in liberal and applied disciplines.

Institutions must provide information as well on scholarships awarded and on admissions criteria for students.

Membership in Phi Kappa Phi is by invitation only. Invited members include the top 7.5 percent of last-term juniors and the top 10 percent of seniors, along with outstanding graduate students, faculty, professional staff, and alumni.

Part of the petition process to have a chapter at USC Spartanburg required at least 15 faculty members currently active in Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Beta Kappa, or Sigma Xi. Twenty-two faculty members will be charter members. They include Chris Bender, Jim Brown, Dan Codespoti, Jay Coffman, Jim Ferrell, Joshua Greben, Chip Green, Jim Griffis, Janice Janiec, Jeanne Kowalczyk, Judy Krueger, Choong Lee, Thomas McConnell, Patrick McCord, Jennifer Parker, Judith Prince, Anne Shelley, Holle Schneider-Ricks, John Stockwell, Jack Turner, Bill Word, and M. B. Ulmer.

"Phi Kappa Phi's motto is ‘Let the love of learning rule humanity,’ and this not only highlights the organization's emphasis on scholarship but also service to the community," said Jim Griffis, philosophy professor and charter member.

04/03