Highlight Your Phi Kappa Phi Membership

Phi Kappa Phi membership is an honor that is not widely bestowed or easily earned. You worked hard for this prestigious achievement, and we’re here to help you celebrate it! Whether you’re applying for a job or graduate program or simply want to share your Phi Kappa Phi pride, we can help.

Personalized Press Releases
Tell your community about your initiation through a personalized press release. After your initiation ceremony, the Society will send a press release on your behalf to announce your achievement through Merit, an electronic press release platform. You can also easily share your personalized Merit story with family and friends on social media. Visit www.PhiKappaPhi.org/Merit to learn more.

Graduation Regalia
Show your achievement at your commencement ceremony with honor cords, stoles, and the official Phi Kappa Phi medallion. Items are sold individually, or you can save when you purchase the recognition bundle, and you’ll receive a free tassel. Visit www.PhiKappaPhiStore.org to shop graduation regalia, and be sure to order in time for your commencement.

Membership Certificate Frames
Display your membership certificate in your home or office with a custom frame from our partner, Church Hill Classics. They offer customizable certificate frames that incorporate the Phi Kappa Phi logo and come in a variety of frame moldings, mat colors, and materials. Create your one-of-a-kind frame today!

Phi Kappa Phi Gear
Show your Phi Kappa Phi pride everywhere you go with Society-branded gear. Our online store features a large selection of quality products, including apparel, drinkware, tech accessories, jewelry, and much more. You can also take advantage of free shipping on orders of $50 or more. Browse the latest gear today!

Membership Verification Letter
Submit a membership verification letter signed by the Society’s Executive Director with your graduate program, award, or job application. Your letter is waiting to be downloaded in the membership documents tab of your membership account at Members.PhiKappaPhi.org/Profile.

Society Graphics
Don’t forget to share your Phi Kappa Phi pride on social media with profile-ready cover photos and update your desktop and mobile device with Society-branded wallpapers available for download today!








MARKING A YEAR OF POSITIVE CHANGE

With this winter issue of Forum, we close out what’s been an eventful year for Phi Kappa Phi, our country, and the world. This year was especially meaningful for the Society because we celebrated a landmark birthday for Phi Kappa Phi. We turned 125 this year, an occasion to reflect on the many ways the Society has grown since our first chapter was formed on the University of Maine campus in 1897.

Our big birthday proved to be a major theme of our national convention on Aug. 4-6 in Orlando, Florida. The event marked our first national gathering in four years. Typically, Phi Kappa Phi convenes a physical gathering of delegates every two years. In 2020, however, the social distancing protocols of the COVID-19 pandemic required us to have a strictly online convention.

I’m delighted that the pandemic eased enough this year for members to gather in Orlando and see each other again in person. The many positive comments I’ve received about our 2022 convention tell me that a lot of you felt the same way.

I got a personal reminder this year that COVID-19 isn’t a thing of the past. I contracted a mild case of the virus just days before the convention, which forced me to cancel my plans to attend our convention in person. As the executive director and CEO of our national office, I was, of course, disappointed to miss the Society’s headliner event of 2022.

Luckily, our national office staff in Orlando, directed by Chief Operating Officer Traci Navarre, helped ensure that our convention was a success. I am also grateful to Dan Sandweiss, who presided over the convention before becoming our past president, for accommodating my absence and allowing me to report to our attendees virtually. Dan’s flexibility and unflappable spirit reminded me how lucky we were to have his guidance as our president the past two years. We’re equally lucky that he’ll remain on our National Board of Directors as past president.

Once again, technology offered a critical tool in adjusting to the challenges of a virus that’s plagued our planet for the past three years now. My experience moved me to think of the many other ways Phi Kappa Phi is adapting to solve problems and embrace opportunities.

Here at the national office, we’ve been working hard this year to advance new systems that will allow us to better track our existing members, attract new ones, and draw new resources for the Society’s important work.

I’m gratified, as we grow the Society, that we’ll have the counsel and wisdom of a stellar new slate of national officers elected at this year’s convention. They include our new president, Lora Becker, and Sharhonda Rush, our new president-elect.

This issue’s theme, the art of the great speech, reminds us that one person can make a big difference by speaking up. I encourage each of you, as Phi Kappa Phi members, to speak up, too. Feel free to reach me with your comments, suggestions, and concerns for the Society at bnewcomer@phikappaphi.org.

Happy holidays to all of you, and here’s wishing for a great 2023.

Apply Today! 2023 Phi Kappa Phi Awards are Officially Open!

Phi Kappa Phi is currently accepting applications for its 2023 awards program including Study Abroad Grants, Literacy Grants, Fellowships, Love of Learning Awards, and our newest award, the Pioneer Award. These awards play a vital role in transforming the lives of students and members by providing funding for graduate study, national and international literacy initiatives, continuing education, and much more!

Since 1932, Phi Kappa Phi has supported the educational pursuits of its members through its award and grant programs. The Society awards $1.3 million each year to outstanding students, members, chapters, and institutions through its robust awards portfolio.

Pioneer: NEW AWARD ALERT-UNDERGRADS ONLY!! Fifty awards at 1,000 each. Designed to encourage and reward undergrad members for developing the research, engagement, and leadership skill necessary to become a successful scholar. The deadline to apply is March 1.

Study Abroad Grants: One hundred twenty-five at $1,00 each awarded to members and non-members as they see knowledge and experience in their academic fields by studying abroad. The deadline to apply is March 15.

Literacy Grants: Grants of up to $2,500 are available to Phi Kappa Phi chapters and individual members for ongoing literacy projects or new initiatives. The deadline to apply is April 1.

Love of Learning Awards: Two hundred at $1,000 (up from $500 last year!) each available to help fund post-baccalaureate research and career development for active Phi Kappa Phi members. The deadline to apply is June 30.

Fellowships: A total of 62 Fellowships are awarded each year-two at $35,000, six at $20,000 each, and fifty-four of $8,500 to members entering the first year of graduate or professional study. Each chapter may submit one candidate to the national competition by April 15. CONTACT YOUR LOCAL CHAPTER FOR APPLICATION DEADLINE!

“Phi Kappa Phi has been there to foster a community of devoted learners, from support via awards to providing a networking platform of amazing students and professionals,” said Kaylin Schirmer, Love of Learning recipient.

To learn more about each award including eligibility requirements and application instructions for each program, please visit www.phikappaphi.org/awards.

Phi Kappa Phi's Council of Students Help Bring Forum's Focus on Conversation to Life

Mention the word “conversation” these days, and many of us will think some pretty serious discourse is about to unfold. Various commentators point out the need for a “national conversation” on pressing social issues. Advice columns also offer tips to parents about how to have difficult conversations with their children.

Such sober exchanges of ideas are an important part of what conversation is about, but talk can have its lighter side, too. We wanted to capture that more cheerful aspect of social interaction in the cover of Forum’s autumn 2022 issue, which is devoted to conversation.

To brighten the mood, we decided to use string telephones, once a common homemade toy, as a prop for our cover illustration. Maybe, when you were a kid, you made one yourself. The concept is simple: Connect two tin cans or drinking cups with a length of string, then alternate using either end as an earpiece or mouthpiece. When held tightly, the string can carry voices over quite a distance. (If you need other any help making a string telephone, online tutorials abound.)

We made a few ourselves, using colored drinking cups that offered a nod to Phi Kappa Phi’s blue and gold colors. Past and present members of the Society’s Council of Students graciously agreed to try them out at Phi Kappa Phi’s national convention in August, and photographer Michelle Harper of Proshots Event Photography was on hand to capture it all.

Our impromptu models stayed fairly close to each other to accommodate Harper’s work, although folks who play with string telephones typically stand some distance apart. Even so, we think readers will get an idea of how fun string telephones can be.

Any one of these pictures would have made a great Forum cover. We eventually selected a photo of Alyson Tudong Nguyen (University of South Alabama) and Vivien Osei Poku (South Dakota State University) to grace the front of the magazine. When possible, we like each cover of Forum to acknowledge, however subtly, the season when the issue is published.

Simulating autumn was a small challenge with these string telephone pictures taken on a bright summer day in Orlando, Florida. Forum’s magazine design firm, STUN Design & Interactive, used the image of Nguyen and Poku as the basis for a cover illustration, reimagining the background as a park scene. The trees display an ever-so-slight autumn blush, and passersby on their smartphones underscore the way we do much of our talking.

But Nguyen and Poku look like they’re having more fun with their string telephones. We hope Forum’s autumn 2022 cover gets members talking. That is, after all, what good conversation is about.

Member Benefit: Affordable Health Insurance

As a Phi Kappa Phi member, you can take advantage of affordable health insurance to protect yourself and your family. The Society is partnered with Mercer to grant members access to worry-free protection through GetMedical.

Everyone has different health insurance needs, but GetMedical makes it easy. They will walk you through the process—from seeing if you qualify for tax credits to giving you personalized health plan recommendations.

GetMedical gives you simple, plain-language answers to your health insurance questions so you can understand your options and make smart decisions to get more value for your money. 

Click here to learn more about your options. If you would like to speak with a licensed customer service agent about your needs and budget, call 855.345.0538

Don’t miss your chance to access affordable health insurance. Enroll now before open enrollment ends on January 15 in most states!

Submit Your Graduation Photos For A Chance to Win!

Graduates—it’s time to celebrate YOU! Earning your degree is quite a feat! Whether you snapped a pose in your Phi Kappa Phi regalia at a commencement ceremony or in a photoshoot, be sure to share your photos with us for a chance to win a Dell laptop or an Amazon gift card, and to be featured in Society materials

To enter, click here to submit your photo(s) by January 31, 2023. Please limit your submission to no more than five photos. High resolution images (JPEG or PNG) are preferred.

The first-place winner will receive a Dell laptop, second place will receive a $100 Amazon gift card, and third place will receive a $50 Amazon gift card.

Click here for more details including official rules and submissions from previous graduation photo contests.

Questions? Contact news@phikappaphi.org.

Shop Amazon to Support Phi Kappa Phi This Holiday Season

Did you know that you can support Phi Kappa Phi each time you shop Amazon? That is right! Your Amazon purchases could automatically generate donations to the Society at no cost to you.

Amazon will donate a portion of the price of your eligible purchases to the Society through a program called AmazonSmile.

Which products are eligible for charitable donations? 
Tens of millions of products sold through Amazon are eligible for donations. When shopping Amazon, look for eligible products marked “Eligible for AmazonSmile donation” on their product detail pages. Recurring Subscribe-and-Save purchases and subscription renewals are not currently eligible.

Can I use my existing Amazon.com account on AmazonSmile? 
Yes, you use the same account on Amazon.com and AmazonSmile. Your shopping cart, Wish List, wedding or baby registry, and other account settings are also the same.

How do I shop to support Phi Kappa Phi? 
Whether you prefer to shop on the Amazon mobile app or a desktop, Amazon makes it simple to support the Society each time you make a purchase. Visit www.PhiKappaPhi.org/AmazonSmile for detailed instructions.

Can I receive a tax deduction for amounts donated from my purchases on AmazonSmile? 
Donations are made by the AmazonSmile Foundation and are not tax deductible by you.

The AmazonSmile Foundation has already donated $377 million to US charities, so what are you waiting for? Set up AmazonSmile to automatically give to Phi Kappa Phi when you shop, and start donating today!

Extend the Conversation: Conversations with Nature

In our Fall 2022 Forum issue, writer Kim Haines-Eitzen argues that landscapes have much to tell us if we take the time to listen to what they might say. She recalls her visits to the Judean desert, which were anything but quiet and informed her insights into how such landscapes shaped monastic cultures. If you missed Haines-Eitzen's story, you can read it here.

What's a favorite landscape for you to visit and get in touch with the world's news? For Forum editor Danny Heitman, it's a small neighborhood park not far from his house. Even on an ostensibly quiet winter day, he can usually hear plenty, including the birds in the trees and squirrels foraging the ground. 

Extend the conversation and share a landscape that fills your ears as well as your eyes with beauty. Let us know, and feel free to share pictures, too!

Please note, our online community is available to active members only, and you will be required to log in with your Phi Kappa Phi credentials. For login assistance, email webmaster@phikappaphi.org.

If you are a member but your active membership has expired, click here to renew and regain access to this exclusive benefit.