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Phi Kappa Phi records

 Collection
Identifier: RG 07-7.05

Scope and Contents

The Phi Kappa Phi collection includes two formal histories of the Berea Chapter, constitutions, membership lists, minutes of the Executive Committee and General Membership meetings, a collection of binders containing documents important to the chapters history, correspondence from 1952-1989, national fellowship applications, banquet programs, Phi Kappa Phi national publications, the Berea Chapters financial records, and VHS video cassettes documenting PKP activities 1992-1994.

Dates

  • Other: Majority of material found within 1951-1990

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Berea College Special Collections and Archives, Hutchins Library, Berea, Ky, 40404.

Conditions Governing Use

Federal copyright regulations apply.  Cite all information.  Some items may be restricted if they contain personal information.

Historical

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.”

Extent

10.00 ms_boxes

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Records of the Berea College chapter or Phi Kappa Phi.

Arrangement Note

This collection in divided into seven series: I. General History, Constitution and By-laws, and Membership Lists, II. Minutes, III. Documentary History of Berea’s Phi Kappa Phi 1951-1964, IV. Correspondence, V. Publications and Banquet Programs, VI. Applications, VII. Financial Records, and VIII. Media/Non-Manuscript Materials.

Related Materials

Berea College Photographic Archives

Subject

Title
Phi Kappa Phi records Finding Aid
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
eng

Revision Statements

  • 2024-07: Finding guide updated

Repository Details

Part of the Berea College Special Collections and Archives Repository

Contact:
Hutchins Library
100 Campus Drive
Berea Kentucky 40404 US
859.985.3262