MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University faculty member Kelly Manix was recently awarded a $1,000 Love of Learning Award from The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. 

One of 155 recipients to receive the award, Manix is an assistant professor of management at MTSU and will use the award funds to attend a three-day intensive on Agile Leadership at Harvard University. The Murfreesboro resident was initiated into Phi Kappa Phi in 2025 at MTSU.

The Love of Learning Award supports post-baccalaureate professional development for active Phi Kappa Phi members, funding opportunities such as graduate or professional studies, doctoral dissertations, continuing education, research and teaching-related travel, career advancement, and more.

Earlier this year, Manix was appointed as the Tolbert Faculty Fellow of Ethical Leadership by the Jennings A. Jones College of Business. 

Established in 2007, the Love of Learning program distributes 155 awards annually. Recipients are selected based on academic excellence, service to campus and community, clarity of career goals, and the potential impact of award funding.

Since 1932, Phi Kappa Phi’s award programs have recognized members and students on its chapter campuses for outstanding academic achievement. In addition to the Love of Learning Program, Phi Kappa Phi awards graduate and dissertation fellowships, study abroad grants, and grants for local, national and international literacy initiatives. 

Each year, more than $1 million is awarded through programs that recognize nearly 400 individuals annually.

For the full list of 2025 recipients, visit www.phikappaphi.org/2025LoL. To learn more about all of Phi Kappa Phi’s award programs, visit www.phikappaphi.org/awards.

About Phi Kappa Phi

Founded in 1897, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines.

Phi Kappa Phi inducts approximately 20,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni annually. The society has chapters on more than 300 select colleges and universities in the United States, its territories and the Philippines. 

Membership is by invitation only to the top 10% of seniors and graduate students and 7.5% of juniors. Faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction also qualify. The society’s mission is to “cultivate a community that celebrates and advances the love of learning.”  For more information, visit www.PhiKappaPhi.org.

— Jimmy Hart (Jimmy.Hart@mtsu.edu)