Phi Kappa Phi hosted their Fall Lecture and Recognition Ceremony, Tuesday Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. in Watkins Auditorium.
The event was held in honor of sophomore and junior students who were in the top 3 percent of their class last year. Phi Kappa Phi Chapter 127 is UTM’s honor society. Each fall semester, the society honors students that have maintained a GPA that keeps them in the top 3 percent.
The introduction to the event was given by the society’s current president, UTM English and Modern Foreign Language Professor Dr. Daniel Pigg. He welcomed the honored students, parents, faculty and members of the community. Pigg also introduced UTM Political Science Professor Dr. Chris Baxter who gave the lecture.
Baxter’s lecture focused on Valdimer Orlando Key’s theory of Southern Politics. Key was a very prominent member of the political science world and donated his intellect to defining the problems with politics in the South. Key published a book titled “Southern Politics in State and Nation.”
“Key gave it an academic face; it wasn’t just something that people sat around and talked about as Southerners. He acknowledged it as a legitimate area of study and brought it in with a purpose,” Baxter said.
Baxter explained the importance of Key as being someone who contributed his intellect to society. Baxter tied his presentation on Key into Phi Kappa Phi’s Recognition Ceremony by telling the honored students they too should contribute to their areas of study, both now and in the future.
“There were a lot of people who may have not wanted to see [the book] written; it was scary, but he made the point that curiosity still matters,” Baxter said.
Phi Kappa Phi recognized 49 sophomores for their first-year GPAsand 42 juniors for their second-year GPAs. Sophomore Mallory Simpson was among the 91 students honored. When asked about her drive to continue excellence, Simpson said that the hard work is, overall, worth it.
“It’s easy to be discouraged, feeling like no one notices, but after you are recognized it pushes to work harder and maintain the same level of success,” Simpson said.
The 91 students recognized that night made up the top 3 percent of last year’s freshman and sophomore classes. Their dedication to excellence was not only noticed, but honored by the honor society of Phi Kappa Phi.
In 1971, UTM was informed by the national society that the campus would be receiving a chapter. They had previously been denied the request for a chapter. UTM’s first honor society was called Pi Sigma Phi and was structured around the national Phi Sigma Phi requirements. Phi Sigma Phi is the oldest and largest honor society.
Phi Kappa Phi offers seniors and juniors the opportunity to join the society during the spring semester. According to the society’s website, “Eligible students must be juniors with at least 72 credit hours and be in the top 7.5 percent of their class. Seniors must be in the top 10 percent of their class.”
Students honored at the event were encouraged to continue not only striving for excellence, but also to continue being great assets to society now and in the future.
