The NDSU chapter of Phi Kappa Phi is scheduled to hold an initiation ceremony Wednesday, Nov. 12, at 5 p.m. in the Memorial Union Ballroom. This year, the 101-year-old NDSU chapter of the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline honor society will initiate 31 undergraduate and graduate students from around the university.
Mary Todd, executive director of Phi Kappa Phi, and NDSU President Dean L. Bresciani will address the initiates and other attendees during the event.
Todd is the first woman to lead the 115-year-old organization and only the 11th person to hold the position since 1900. As executive director, she is working with the society’s board to develop a strategic plan for Phi Kappa Phi that supports its mission “to recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others.” She also oversees the day-to-day operations of Phi Kappa Phi headquarters and participates in field activities such as campus visits and chapter installations.
The initiation also will celebrate the NDSU chapter’s being one of the five 2014 book drive nationwide winners. The PKP Council of Students sponsored and managed the inaugural national Phi Kappa Phi Book Drive Competition, and recognized NDSU and four other chapters that collected the most donations.
NDSU is recognized as one of the nation’s top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.