96 UW-Madison students join Phi Kappa Phi

Phi Kappa Phi, Chapter 021 has initiated 96 UW–Madison students into membership this year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 101st Phi Kappa Phi Induction Ceremony was held virtually; Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning John Zumbrunnen was the Keynote Speaker. (YouTube link here.)

Jordan DeWester, Music Performance, is this year’s Zillman Summer Research Fellowship award winner. Zillman Fellowships are designed to encourage students from a variety of disciplines to enrich their educational programs through summer projects involving study, research, travel, and training that is not part of a formal curriculum.

Honorary membership was granted to two faculty and staff: Dr. Kirsten Brown, a faculty member in the Education Leadership program at Edgewood College, and Elise Marifian, a PhD candidate in Economics, and a fellow in the Interdisciplinary Training Program in Education Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

A list of new members is available here. 

Phi Kappa Phi was founded in 1897 at the University of Maine by a group of students who felt a need for an honor society that would recognize excellence across the whole range of academic disciplines Under the leadership of student Marcus L. Urann, the group formed the Lambda Sigma Eta Society, later renamed Phi Kappa Phi from the letters of the Greek words forming its motto, Philosophìa Krateìto Photôn, “Let the love of learning guide humanity.” Today, Phi Kappa Phi recognizes and promotes academic excellence in all fields of higher education and engages the community of scholars in service to others.

Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honor society that is open to students across disciplines. Phi Kappa Phi recognizes the achievements of the most outstanding students in every school and college at UW–Madison. The UW–Madison chapter of Phi Kappa Phi was founded in 1920 and has had a continuous presence on this campus ever since. Each fall invitations are sent to the top 10 percent of graduate students, the top 10 percent of seniors and the top 7.5 percent of second-semester juniors in each school and college.