ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA — Winthrop University’s chapter of Phi Kappa Phi inducted 23 new members during an April 7 ceremony.
The society is the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines.
New members from the junior and senior class invited to join were: Scarlett Black, Jessika Bonner, Savannah Crosby, Madison DeMott, Jordan Epperson, Ashley Marie Gilbertson, Mary B. Gump, Michael David Hazell, Melody C. Iacino, Megan Loveland, Veronica A. Mackie, Ashlee McCall, Alina Michelle McDonald, Gabrielle Elise McGee, Erin Paradiso, Olivia Taylor Phillips, Lauren Michele Quesada, Casey Smith, Katelyn Watford and Addison Brooke Wilson.
Graduate students inducted were Dara Felice Finch and Katherine Zanowski.
Among the inductees was Debra Boyd, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, who is stepping down this summer from her current job and returning to the classroom in 2020 after a year-long sabbatical. “We were happy to induct Provost Boyd into Phi Kappa Phi in recognition of her long-standing support of the organization,” said English Professor Kelly Richardson, the chapter’s secretary. “As someone deeply committed to student learning, she has been an advocate of fostering academic excellence here at Winthrop University.”
These honorees are among about 30,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year. Membership is by invitation and requires nomination and approval by a chapter. Only the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors, having at least 72 semester hours, are eligible for membership.
Graduate students in the top 10 percent of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff, and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.
Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine and headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Phi Kappa Phi has chapters on more than 300 college and university campuses in North America and the Philippines. Its 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."
For more information, contact Kelly Richardson at richardsonk@winthrop.edu.
