Michele Papakie, chair and associate professor of the Department of Journalism and Public Relations at ϳԹ, received a Love of Learning award worth $500 from the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. She is one of 80 recipients nationwide to receive the award.
Papakie will use funds from the award to pursue her personal accreditation in public relations (APR) through the Public Relations Society of America.
President of the IUP chapter, Papakie was initiated into IUP's Phi Kappa Phi chapter in 2013.
The Love of Learning program, implemented in 2007, grants 160 awards annually in support of graduate and professional studies, doctoral dissertations, continuing education, career development, and travel related to teaching and studies.
In addition to the Love of Learning program, the Society's award programs give $1.4 million 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.
IUP will hold its annual PKP initiation ceremony at 2:00 p.m. April 2 in Gorell Recital Hall of Sutton Hall. A reception will follow in the Blue Room.
IUP's Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society chapter received Chapter of Excellence recognition by the national Phi Kappa Phi organization for five consecutive years. This honor recognizes chapters that promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and engage the community of scholars in service.
By receiving the Chapter of Excellence distinction, the IUP chapter is recognized for meeting frequently, holding annual initiations, and applying frequently for Phi Kappa Phi's select scholarships, grants, and fellowships.
To be invited for membership, students must be in the top 7.5 percent of their class if they are juniors or the top 10 percent if they are seniors or graduate students. Faculty and professional staff members and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction also qualify.
The chapter at IUP was founded in 1993. Since that time, several IUP students have received competitive Phi Kappa Phi scholarships, including a 2012 Phi Kappa Phi Walter and Adelheid Hohenstein Fellow Award, national fellowships for graduate study, study abroad scholarships, and Love of Learning awards.
More About Phi Kappa Phi
Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Phi Kappa Phi inducts annually approximately 32,000 students, faculty, professional staff, and alumni. The Society has chapters on more than 300 select colleges and universities in North America and the Philippines. Membership is by invitation only to the top 10 percent of seniors and graduate students and 7.5 percent of juniors. Faculty, professional staff, and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction also qualify.
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 cofounder Chad Hurley. The Society has awarded approximately $14 million since the inception of its awards program in 1932. Today, $1 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. 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.”