Nine University of Mississippi chemistry majors have recently been welcomed into one of the oldest and most prestigious honor societies in the world.

The Phi Kapa Phi honor society’s mission is “to recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others.”

“This semester’s inductees deserve so much praise and respect,” Phi Kappa Phi Ole Miss board member Dr. Debora Wenger said. “They remained committed to academic excellence despite a pandemic creating innumerable challenges for learning. These students are truly scholarly all-stars.”

Phi Kappa Phi has a long and impressive history. In 1897 at the University of Maine, 10 senior students, two faculty members and the school president created an honor society that was different from the few others then in existence- one that recognized and honored excellence in all academic disciplines. Under the leadership of undergraduate student Marcus L. Urann, the group formed the Lambda Sigma Eta Society, which was later renamed Phi Kappa Phi from the initial letters of the Greek words forming its adopted motto: Philosophìa Krateìto Photôn, “Let the love of learning rule humanity.”

At the University of Mississippi, notable inductees include former chancellor Robert Khayat, the late Senator Thad Cochran and bestselling author John Grisham. Presidents, senators, Supreme Court Justices, governors, Pulitzer Prize winners, even astronauts count themselves as members of Phi Kappa Phi. 

Please join the department in welcoming these 2020-2021 chemistry majors to the Phi Kappa Phi Honors Society: