THE RITUAL OF INITIATION OF
THE HONOR SOCIETY OF PHI KAPPA PHI
Revised December 2012
This script is intended to serve as a guide. It is to be adapted, supplemented, or
embellished as the chapter may see fit. Chapter officers should encourage the attendance
of the college/university president or chancellor, provost, academic deans, and vice
presidents and invite their involvement as appropriate.
CHAPTER PRESIDENT
Good Morning/Afternoon/ Evening. I am [NAME], [CHAPTER OFFICE] of
the [NAME OF INSTITUTION] chapter of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa
Phi.
[Here, recognize any distinguished guests such as the university president and/or
others.]
Today we celebrate excellence! We gather to initiate worthy individuals into
The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. These persons have been chosen on
the basis of their superior scholarship. We are pleased and proud that each
has chosen to become part of a century-old community of scholars and
professionals that includes individuals who have distinguished themselves in
positions of leadership and whose careers have been characterized by
achievement. Our members have served in the White House, the Congress,
and the Supreme Court of the United States. They have won Nobel Prizes,
Pulitzer Prizes, and numerous other national and international awards for
service and achievement in their chosen fields. Phi Kappa Phi is proud to
include among its membership thousands of women and men who, for more
than a century, have sought to make a difference in the communities where
they live and work.
The Society’s values are conveyed in its motto, “Let the love of learning rule
humanity.” Our mission also states clearly who we are and what we do: “to
recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education
and to engage the community of scholars in service to others.” Phi Kappa
Phi’s standards are unsurpassed and second to none. We seek to reward
excellence wherever it can be identified in any institution that has a chapter
of the Society. By virtue of its interdisciplinary nature, Phi Kappa Phi elects
its membership from all academic fields within the university.
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[This is the natural point for the president to introduce a guest speaker to make
remarks.]
CHAPTER PRESIDENT
The bylaws of the [NAME OF INSTITUTION] chapter of Phi Kappa Phi,
operating within the framework of the Society’s Bylaws, specify certain
conditions to be observed in electing persons to membership. These
conditions are summarized as follows:
Senior undergraduates shall be in the upper ten (10) percent of their class in
each college or division. Juniors are drawn from the upper seven and onehalf (7.5) percent of their class. Graduate and professional students who
have completed one full year of study and are in the upper ten (10) percent
of all candidates for graduate or professional degrees also are eligible for
membership. Faculty, administrators, professional staff, and alumni who
have achieved scholarly distinction also qualify for membership.
It is fitting that candidates about to be initiated into Phi Kappa Phi know
certain facts about the Society. In 1897, Marcus L. Urann, a student at Maine
State College (now the University of Maine) proposed to his professors an
honor society built upon a broader base and with wider purpose than any in
existence at the time. At the request of College President Abram Harris,
Urann drafted a constitution and set of bylaws for such an organization.
Urann and Harris, assisted by interested professors, succeeded in organizing
the Lambda Sigma Eta Society, an academic honor society open to superior
students regardless of academic discipline. Ten students were elected to
membership that first year. After Urann’s graduation, President Harris
assumed the responsibility for promoting the society.
In 1900, with strong support from the presidents of the University of Maine,
Pennsylvania State College (now Pennsylvania State University), and the
University of Tennessee, the Society became a national organization. In the
same year, the Society was renamed Phi Kappa Phi from the initials of three
Greek words of its adopted motto. Today, there are more than 300 chapters
of Phi Kappa Phi, ranging from Maine to the Philippines and from Alaska to
Puerto Rico.
[NAME], chapter vice president (or other chapter officer), will now explain
the symbolism associated with Phi Kappa Phi.
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CHAPTER VICE PRESIDENT [or other chapter officer]
The badge of the Society is a globe against the background of the sun, whose
rays form an expansive corona and radiate in a number of symmetrical and
equal concentrations from behind the globe. These signify equivalence
among the various branches of learning and represent dissemination of truth
as light. Encircling the globe is a band containing the Greek letters 
(Phi Kappa Phi). It symbolizes a fraternal bond which girds the earth and
binds the lovers of wisdom in a common purpose.
The seal of the Society features the badge at its center. The badge is
surrounded by a crenellated line that represents the battlements and walls of
Troy. In the space between this line and the periphery of the seal appear
three stars just above the badge, one for each of the three original chapters.
Below the badge is the phrase “Founded 1897.”
The ribbon of the Society is a meander pattern that is common in ancient
Greek art and symbolizes the classical features of the Society.
The first word of the Phi Kappa Phi Motto is Philosophía (fe-loh-so-FI-uh,
with “FI” as in “fee” not “file”). For historical reasons the Society translates
this Greek word as “the love of learning.”
The second word of the Motto is Krateítō (Krah-TAY-toe), a verb meaning
“to rule.” In our Motto the word has the form of a strong exhortation that
calls on us to “let the love of learning rule.”
The last word of the Motto is Phōtôn (Foe-TONE). This word occurs in
ancient Greek poetry and drama with reference to mortals in contrast to
immortal gods. In our Motto it refers to all humans—women and men—so
we translate it as the word “humanity.”
Thus, in saying the Phi Kappa Phi Motto, Philosophía Krateítō Phōtôn, you
are calling on yourself and others to have your lives ruled by the love of
learning.
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CHAPTER PRESIDENT
As initiates, you receive a certificate of membership, as well as an emblem
in the form of a pin. Each of you will receive a subscription to the Society’s
publication, the Phi Kappa Phi Forum magazine, along with access to a
variety of benefits and services designed to assist you throughout your
academic and professional life. And as a Society member, you will be
eligible to compete for numerous scholarships and awards, valued at $1
million each biennium.
Let me remind you that once initiated into the Society, each of you will
always be a member of Phi Kappa Phi. To be classified as an active member,
however, and to continue to receive many benefits, you will need to pay
national dues annually. You are urged to maintain active membership, not
only as a means of personal fulfillment, but also as a way of helping to
sustain the prestige and to support the activities of your honor society. We
also sincerely hope that you will support your local chapter of Phi Kappa Phi
at [NAME OF INSTITUTION].
Will the candidates please rise? Please repeat after me the Society’s
affirmation of membership:
In response to the honor bestowed on me /
by my election to Phi Kappa Phi, /
I shall continue to uphold the motto of Phi Kappa Phi: /
“Let the Love of Learning Rule Humanity.”
Thank you. We shall now confer upon each of you the membership in Phi
Kappa Phi to which you have been elected, with all the rights, privileges and
responsibilities appertaining thereunto.
Candidates, please be seated/proceed to the stage to receive your certificates
and pins.
[At this point, the manner in which certificates are conferred is up to each chapter.
Many follow a standard commencement practice, with candidates handing cards to
a reader (often an academic dean) to announce their names as they approach the
stage or dais. Others are more informal. Once all candidates have returned to their
seats, the script resumes.]
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CHAPTER PRESIDENT
By virtue of your superior scholarship, by virtue of what you have
achieved and who you are— a combination of qualities that led to your
election by this chapter of the Society—it is now my privilege to declare you
to be members in good standing of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.
May you continue to merit this high honor, never complacent; ever seeking
the realization of the Society’s motto: “Let the love of learning rule
humanity.” Congratulations to you all.
[The chapter president will announce the time and place for the reception, dinner,
or other function that follows the ceremony.]
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