Faculty and staff are asked to encourage students who have received invitations to join the IUP chapter of Phi Kappa Phi to take advantage of this opportunity before the deadline of April 14. Invitations were mailed to students' home addresses and e-mailed to them earlier this month.

IUP Phi Kappa Phi Chapter of Excellence

Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest honor society for all academic disciplines, with 300 chapters throughout the nation. Membership is by invitation only to the top 10 percent of seniors and graduate students and the top 7.5 percent of juniors. Faculty and professional staff members and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction also qualify. The university's chapter is one of only 19 in the nation receiving this honor for recognizing and promoting academic excellence in all fields of higher education and engaging the community of scholars in service.

Every year, Phi Kappa Phi awards 51 Fellowship Awards valued at $5,000 and five awards valued at $15,000 to members who are entering their first year of graduate or professional study.

IUP's chapter may select one candidate from the local applicants to compete for the national, society-wide awards. Last year, the IUP nominee was awarded a very prestigious award that he applied toward his first year of medical school expenses. Applications for Fellowships will be reviewed by a local committee made up of IUP Phi Kappa Phi advisory board members. One applicant from the local pool of applicants will be forwarded to the national offices of Phi Kappa Phi for further consideration.

To apply for a Fellowship, applicants must review the submission instructions and get application materials from http://www.PhiKappaPhi.org/Fellowship. Complete applications must be received by the local Phi Kappa Phi chapter by 4 p.m. April 3. Incomplete applications cannot be considered. Completed applications should be sent to: Professor Daniel Lee, 200 Wilson Hall, Department of Criminology -- marked, "Attn: Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship."

For additional information, contact Dr. Lee at Daniel.Lee@iup.edu or (724) 357-5930.

The IUP chapter's Phi Kappa Phi induction ceremony is May 2 at 6 p.m. in the Sutton Hall Blue Room and Gorell Recital Hall.