MTSU professor elected to Phi Kappa Phi honor society national board of directors

The associate dean of MTSU’s University Honors College will help guide the direction of one of the country’s most prestigious honor societies.

Philip Phillips, who also is a professor of English, was elected for a second time to serve on the board of directors of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi during the group’s biennial convention Aug. 4-6 in Orlando, Florida. His term will last from 2022-2024.

Dr. Philip Phillips, University Honors College associate dean and professor of English — Dr. Philip Phillips

“It is an honor for me to have been elected to serve a second term on the national Phi Kappa Phi Board of Directors,” Phillips said. “I served previously during the 2018-2020 biennium. I am committed to the society’s motto, ‘Let the love of learning rule humanity,’ and to its efforts to provide over $1.3 million in scholarships and fellowships every year to students and scholars throughout the country.”

Phillips, who is the immediate past president of the MTSU chapter, has been active in the society at both the local and national levels for years. He also has served on the Innovation Award Jury, which presents a $100,000 award to a university with a distinctive, transformative program that aligns with the society’s mission.

“I am especially proud of the MTSU chapter’s track record of producing Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship, Love of Learning Award, Study Abroad Scholarship and Literacy Grant winners over the past decade,” Phillips said.

Members of the 2022-2024 Board of Directors of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi pose for a group photo at the PKP biennial convention held Aug. 4-6 in Orlando, Florida. Phillip Phillips, associate dean of the University Honors College and immediate past president of the MTSU chapter, is third from right. (Image submitted)

At MTSU, Phillips has served as graduate advisor and admissions director for the Department of English and implementation coordinator for the academic master plan. Outside the university, he has belonged to both the diversity and research committees of the National Collegiate Honors Council. Phillips also has been a member of the editorial board of The Edgar Allan Poe Review and founder and director of the Great Books in Middle Tennessee Prisons Program.

Phi Kappa Phi is the country’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Membership is by invitation only to the top 10% of seniors and graduate students and 7.5% of juniors.

Nearly 25,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni are inducted annually into more than 325 chapters at select colleges and universities in the United States, its territories and the Philippines. Its stated mission is “to recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and engage the community of scholars in service to others.”

To learn more about the national organization, go to https://www.phikappaphi.org. To find out more about MTSU’s chapter, go to https://www.mtsu.edu/pkp/.

–Gina K. Logue (gina.logue@mtsu.edu)