Phi Kappa Phi Records

The history of Berea College's Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi begins in the early 1950's but the need for an honor society like Phi Kappa Phi had been recognized at Berea as early as the 1930's and 1940's.  Within those decades Berea established a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa; however, because Phi Beta Kappa only recognized outstanding scholarship in disciplines covered by a Bachelor of Arts degree, about one-third of Berea's student body was ineligible for acceptance to an interdisciplinary honor society.  Hence the need that facilitated the formation of Phi Kappa Phi, an honor society that accepted students seeking both Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science, at Berea. The principle proponents of for a Phi Kappa Phi chapter at Berea were Dr. Waldemar Noll and Dr. Kenneth Thompson.  With the encouragement of President Francis Hutchins, they formed a group of faculty who were members of various honor societies to work on the creation of a Phi Kappa Phi chapter in late 1951.  This group had to overcome obstacles from both the college general faculty and the Phi Kappa Phi National Office.  After one rejection in 1952, the general faculty approved the constitution of the Berea College Honor Society on March 9, 1953.  The last hurdle was acceptance of the Berea College Petition as a Chapter by Phi Kappa Phi.  The Petition was accepted and the Chapter installed at Berea on November 20, 1953 with Dr. Noll as its first president and Dr. Thompson as his vice-president.         The Chapters activities since its installation have included the nomination of new members to the society (each year it accepts the top ten percent of the senior class and five percent of the junior class), the selection of a nominee to compete for a Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Fellowship, and holding an annual initiation banquet.   The Chapter has initiated several local scholarships and awards, including the Perley Ayer Scholarship, and recognizes a member of the college faculty as “Phi Kappa Phi Professor of the Year.”