Phi Kappa Phi Taps More Mtn. Brook Residents Into Honor Society

BATON ROUGE, LA — Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines, recently tapped more members into its society, including several from the Birmingham metro.

Local students recently inducted into Phi Kappa Phi include:

• Anna Morgan Butler of Vestavia Hills at The University of Alabama
• Elizabeth Gillespy of Mountain Brook at The University of Alabama
• Stephen Michaels of Vestavia Hills at The University of Alabama
• Sophia Ragusa of Birmingham at The University of Alabama
• David Roby of Birmingham at The University of Alabama
• Elizabeth Toranto of Mountain Brook at The University of Alabama
• Danielle Deavours of Hoover at The University of Alabama
• Sydney Carlson of Mountain Brook at Western Carolina University

They are among approximately 30,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni to be initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year. Membership is by invitation only and requires nomination and approval by a chapter. Only the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors 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.

Phi Kappa Phi was founded in 1897 under the leadership of undergraduate student Marcus L. Urann. The society has chapters on more than 325 campuses in the United States 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."