Welcome PHI KAPPA PHI Chapter 203
The primary objective of the national Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is the recognition and encouragement of superior scholarship in all academic disciplines. The Society is convinced that in recognizing and honoring those persons of good character who have excelled in scholarship, in whatever field, it will stimulate others to strive for excellence. Moreover, the Society serves the interests of the student capable of excellence by insisting that in order to acquire a chapter of Phi Kappa Phi, an institution provide the means and atmosphere conducive to academic excellence.
History of Phi Kappa Phi
In 1897 a group of 10 students at the University of Maine, who perceived a need for an honor society on broader lines than any then in existence, was assisted by interested professors to organize the Lambda Sigma Eta Society. A year or so later the name was changed to the Morrill Society, in honor of the sponsor of the Congressional Act which provided for land-grant colleges. In 1900 it was transformed into a national society by action of a committee composed of the presidents of the University of Maine, the University of Tennessee, and Pennsylvania State College (now The Pennsylvania State University). The chapters in these institutions are the founding chapters. The Society was renamed Phi Kappa Phi, from the initial letters of the Greek words forming its adopted motto: Philosophia Krateito Photon, roughly translated as "Let the love of learning rule humanity." Phi Kappa Phi currently has chapters in institutions from Maine to the Philippines and from Alaska to Puerto Rico.
The history of the Society has been recorded in two volumes, In Pursuit of Excellence: The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, 1897-1971 by Edward Schriver and Making Heroes of Scholars: The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, 1971-1983 by Neal O'Steen.
The Phi Kappa Phi chapter at Southern Illinois University is Chapter 203, founded in May, 1978.